Revolving Chairs In The IP World: People Shift Positions. But Interests? Not So Much

A lot has happened among the global intellectual property community over the past months. Beyond the usual shifts in law offices, many key positions have either changed hands or been filled. For example, the European commissioners changed, and the United States nominated a new “piracy czar” and a new head of the US Patent and Trademark Office. The International Telecommunication Union, UNITAID and other organisations have new heads. And the World Intellectual Property Organization has a new top management team.

Non-governmental organisations and the private sector also saw a lot of movement in recent months, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the International Trademark Association, the International Publishers Association, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

In this article, we take the opportunity to catch up. Here is a look at some of the changes. There are several more changes afoot that we are not authorised to share yet, but stay tuned in the coming weeks. And as always, send us your People news to info@ip-watch.ch!

GOVERNMENTS

Geneva Delegates

Jan Walter, 2nd Secretary at the Czech Republic mission in Geneva and following WIPO moved on at the end of the year and will be a visiting lecturer at the University of Economics in Prague. His successor is Martin Tocik, 3rd Secretary at the mission.

Mokhtar Warida, Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Egypt in Geneva, following WIPO, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, finished his assignment in the summer and is now Counselor at the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development (Egypt’s Foreign Policy Development Agency).

European Union Delegation in Geneva spokesperson Ruth Kaufmann-Bühler left Geneva at the end of the summer for a new position in the European External Action Service in Brussels. Her successor is Lucie Samcova.

Europe

European Commission

2014 was an election year for the European Commission. Among the newly elected: Jean-Claude Juncker from Luxembourg is the new President of the Commission, previously president of the Euro Group. Andrus Ansip from Estonia is Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Jyrki Katainen, from Finland is Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Günther Oettinger from Germany is Commissioner for Digital Economy & Society, Cecilia Malmström from Sweden is Commissioner for Trade, Miguel Arias Cañete from Spain is Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy, Vytenis Andriukaitis from Lithuania is Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, Pierre Moscovici from France is Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Carlos Moedas from Portugal is Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

Former Chief Economist of the European Patent Office (EPO) Nikolaus Thumm has been with the European Commission Information Society Unit since the spring 2014. He is working on IP-related issues in the information society.

United States

Copyright Office

The United States Copyright Office announced two appointments: Ricardo Farraj-Feijoo, as Director of the Copyright Technology Office, and Catherine Rowland, as Senior Advisor to the Registrar of Copyrights. Farraj-Feijoo is to serve on the senior management team and to report to the Copyright Office Chief Information Officer. Farraj-Feijoo served as Director of Information Technology Services within the Office of the Chief Information Officer at the US Department of Commerce. Rowland, who joined the Copyright Office in 2010 as Attorney-Advisor for the Copyright Office’s Office of the General Counsel, also served as Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs from 2012 to 2015.

Also appointed [pdf] was Sarang Damle to the position of Deputy General Counsel of the office, and Maria Strong to the position of deputy director of policy and international affairs. Both positions were effective 12 January 2015. Damle was previously Special Advisor to the Copyright Office’s General Counsel.

White House

Two former Google lawyers hold top White House technology posts. Megan Smith was named Chief Technology Officer and Alexander Macgillivray as Deputy Chief Technology Officer.

New “piracy czar” Danny Marti nominated by the Obama administration. Marti is a copyright and trademark attorney in Washington. His nomination as the White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator has to be confirmed by the Senate.

Commerce Department

After more than five years at Google, Winter Casey entered public service as Senior Advisor for Internet Policy at the Commerce Department National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Casey formerly worked at National Journal in Washington, DC and was a contributor to Intellectual Property Watch.

A Commerce Data Advisory Council (CDAC) was established to provide Secretary Penny Pritzker and the Department of Commerce data-bureau leadership with guidance on data management and data policy. Members, who will serve a two-year term, represent the spectrum of Commerce data including demographic, economic, scientific, environmental, patent, and geospatial.

The 19 members of CDAC include: Joy Bonaguro, City and County of San Francisco; Katy Borner, Information Sciences, Indiana University; Danah Boyd, Microsoft; Daniel Castro, Center for Data Innovation; Jack Dangermond, Esri; Christopher DiBona, Google; Bill Gail, Global Weather Corporation; Heather Joseph, SPARC; Stan Humphries, Zillow; Vadim Kutsyy, eBay; Kevin Merritt, Socrata, Inc.; CJ Moses, Amazon Web Services; Jen Pahlka, Code for America; Colin Parris, General Electric; Karin Remington, Arjuna Solutions; Brian Schimpf, Palantir; and Kim Stevenson, Intel.

USTR, USPTO

Robert Holleyman was nominated to serve as Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR). He was approved and has been in the role since autumn. Holleyman was President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance from 1990 to 2013.

US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Commissioner for Trademarks Deborah Cohn retired at the end of 2014 after more than 30 years of service.

Michelle Lee was nominated to become the next Director of the USPTO and  Lee has been serving as USPTO Deputy Director and Acting Director of the office. Before that, she was director of the USPTO Silicon Valley (northern California) office, having joined government from a high-tech industry legal background including Google.

Asia

Hitoshi Ito became Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office in the summer. He succeeded Hideo Hato, who retired.

US-based economist Arvind Subramanian was appointed Chief Economic Adviser of the Indian Ministry of Finance in October for three years. Subramanian is the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development.

 

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

United Nations

FAO

Xiangjun Yao has been appointed as Director of the Geneva Liaison Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations this summer. Yao, a national of China, was Director, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension at the FAO in 2011 and transferred in 2012 to the position of Director of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division. She succeeds Ann Tutwiler.

ITU

Houlin Zhao of China took office as of 1 January as Secretary-General of the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Zhao is in office for four years, with the possibility of re-election for one more four-year term. He was endorsed by the ITU 19th Plenipotentiary Conference in October. Zhao is a telecoms engineer who served as ITU Deputy Secretary-General since January 2007. He takes over from Hamadoun Toure of Mali, who served two terms as Secretary-General from 2007 to 2014.

WIPO

With last year’s re-election of WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, the new senior management team has taken office. A number of deputy directors general and assistant directors general were replaced, and positions slightly amended.

DDGs: Anne Leer from Norway (Culture and Creative Industries Sector) took over from Trevor Clarke (Assistant Director General – Copyright). Leer came from [pdf] the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Mario Matus of Chile (Development Programs) took over from Geoffrey Onyeama (Cooperation for Development) and came from [pdf] Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. John Sandage, from the US (Patents and Technology Sector) took over from James Pooley (Patents); he came from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. Binying Wang of China kept her position (Brands and Designs Sector).

ADGs: Minelik Getahun of Ethiopia (Global Issues) took over from Johannes Christian Wichard (DDG – Global Issues) and previously was the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. Naresh Prasad from India remained Chief of Staff, Ambi Sundaram (Sri Lanka) remained in charge of Administration and Management, and Yoshiyuki Takagi (Japan) kept the Global Infrastructure Sector.

James Pooley, following the end of his term as WIPO Deputy Director General responsible for patents, opened an independent practice headquartered in Silicon Valley providing advice on international IP strategy and litigation with a focus on patent and trade secret matters.

Hai-Yuean Tualima, a Samoan, from Sataua, Puapua, Iva, Faleula, Lepea and Salelologa of Samoa, is the WIPO Indigenous Fellow for 2015, the organisation announced.

Other Organisations

After Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair Rajendra K Pachauri stepped down following sexual harassment allegations, Vice-Chair Ismail El Gizouli was appointed [pdf] acting chair on 24 February. Several candidates for the chair, including from the United States, are being put forward. According to a US Department of State release, the election of the IPCC chair will take place during the 42nd session of the IPCC from 6-10 October.

Lelio Marmora has been UNITAID’s Executive Director since October. Marmora joined UNITAID from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Inger Andersen of Denmark became Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Andersen, previously Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank, succeeds Julia Marton-Lefèvre who served since January 2007.

Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), is entering his last year in office. As of 1 January 2016, Italian physicist Fabiola Gianotti will succeed him. Gianotti was selected by the CERN Council in November. Gianotti was leader of the ATLAS experiment collaboration from March 2009 to February 2013 at CERN.

Long-time Bureau of National Affairs reporter Daniel Pruzin became Information Officer with the Information and External Relations Division at the World Trade Organization, responsible for following the committees on trade facilitation, government procurement, rules of origin and civil aircraft.

NGOs, ACADEMIA

After 14 years at the head of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Executive Director Shari Steele is to step down to leave her position to Cindy Cohn, the foundation’s Legal Director. Cohn, who has been involved with EFF for over 20 years, became Legal Director in 2000. EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry is expected to take over as Legal Director. Steele is to remain EFF Executive Director until April.

EFF also announced that digital rights champion and author Cory Doctorow rejoined EFF to “battle the pervasive use of dangerous digital rights management (DRM) technologies that threaten users’ security and privacy, distort markets, confiscate public rights, and undermine innovation.” He will be a Special Consultant to the Apollo 1201 Project, a mission to eradicate DRM in our lifetime.

Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) recruited long-time Free Software activist Jonas Öberg to be the organisation’s Executive Director. He joined the organisation’s leadership team on March 1. Öberg is one of FSFE’s founding members, and was the organisation’s vice president from 2001 through 2008.

Matthew Garrett, a developer specialising in the interactions between operating system kernels, platform firmware and system security, joined the Free Software Foundation Board of Directors in October. Garrett is the eighth director on the FSF’s board.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) welcomed returning Rachel Singleton-Polster in a newly created Fellow position in its New York office, and David Elliott, joining QUNO as a Programme Assistant for Food & Sustainability and Climate Change programmes in Geneva.

IP law specialist Bassem Awad was named in the fall by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (Canada) as Research Fellow with the think tank’s International Law Research Program. Awad has served as Judge in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Susan Crawford, former John A. Reilly Visiting Professor in intellectual property at Harvard Law School has been appointed Clinical Professor of Law.

 

PRIVATE SECTOR

Industry Associations

Newly appointed European Broadcasting Union Media Director Jean Philip De Tender will take up his post in May, according to the EBU. De Tender is replacing Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser, EBU’s first Media Director appointed in February 2012. He is former General Manager of Eén, a public Dutch-language TV station in Belgium, and has been a member of the Eurovision TV Committee since 2010.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association last summer welcomed Christian Borggreen in its Brussels office as Director of International Digital Economy Policy, and Bijan Madhani in its Washington office as Policy and Regulatory Counsel focusing on privacy, surveillance, security and global internet issues. Borggreen came from the US Mission to the European Union where he was Senior Policy Advisor, leading US Government advocacy on internet issues. Madhani is a former Legal Fellow at CCIA.

The International Trademark Association elected J. Scott Evans of Adobe Systems Incorporated as its 2015 President, and Chair of its Board of Directors. Evans, currently Associate General Counsel at Adobe Systems Incorporated previously served as Senior Legal Director, Global Brands and Trademarks at Yahoo.

A series of appointments were made at International Publishers Association (IPA) in October. Michiel Kolman of Elsevier, global provider of information solutions, was elected IPA Vice President. Brian Wafawarowa of Pearson South Africa, an international media company, joined the IPA Executive Committee, along with Bodour Al Qasimi of Kalimat Publishing. They joined Trasvin Jittidecharak of Silkworm Books, Riccardo Cavallero of Mondadori and Asoke Ghosh of PHI Learning, all re-appointed. Paul Doda of Elsevier is the new chair of IPA’s Copyright Committee.

Also at IPA, Richard Charkin was elected as IPA President starting in January, succeeding Youngsuk “Y.S.” Chi, who completed his four-year term of office. Mark Bide was appointed IPA adviser on digital publishing, standards and accessibility strategy.

The Motion Picture Association of America welcomed Joanna McIntosh as Executive Vice President for Global Policy and External Affairs in summer. Before that, McIntosh served as Vice President of Federal Government Relations at Verizon.

The European Telecommunication Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) announced that Steven Tas, from Belgacom, took up ETNO’s chairmanship as of 1 January, following his election in November. Tas succeeds to Luigi Gambardella, who served for the past four years. Tas has headed the regulatory department of Belgacom, a Belgian telecommunications company, since 2008.

Business advocacy group US- India Business Council (USIBC) appointed Mukesh Aghi as its new President on 14 January. Aghi is currently Chief Executive and member of the Board of Directors at L&T InfoTech. Working primarily in the private sector, Aghi has also worked with the US and Indian government at senior levels. His previous positions include President of IBM India, and chairman and CEO of global IT company Steria (Asia Pacific).

Lisa Jorgenson was named Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) starting 17 November. Jorgenson was the group Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing at STMicroelectronics, a global manufacturer of semiconductor products.

In the fall, the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation awarded its 2014 Distinguished IP Professional Award to Judge Richard Linn of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Linn was appointed to the Federal Circuit in 1999.

Moving on from her position as the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global IP Center’s Communications Director, Trinh Nguyen last summer joined Philip Morris International in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is replaced at the Chamber by Brian Noyes.

Nick Ashton-Hart, former Geneva representative of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, is now Executive Director at Internet & Digital Ecosystem Alliance (IDEA) in Geneva.

New Entities

The Afro-Asian Association for Intellectual Property (AAAIP), established in the fall, aims at providing a platform for professional networking, providing information on IP laws, IP case law, and fostering cooperation with authorities, universities and sister associations. It currently includes some 60 member states.

A group of IP lawyers at Cooley LLP established PTAB Digest, an free online tool to track and analyse key decisions issued in inter partes reviews (patentability reviews), post-grant reviews, covered business method reviews, and other post-grand proceedings by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Law Offices

Christian G. Stahl, Quarles & Brady partner and intellectual property lawyer has been selected to be a member of the 2015 class of Fellows and participate in a programme created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).

Foley & Lardner announced that Matt Karlyn has returned as partner in its Boston Technology Transactions & Outsourcing Practice. He is focusing on technology and patent licensing, commercial technology transactions, and outsourcing transactions.

Steven Weisburd and Richard LaCava are new additions to Arent Fox national IP practice in New York. They are both coming from Dickstein Shapiro, according to the firm. They advise technology clients on prosecution, licensing, enforcement, and monetization of IP assets.

The Brussels Office of Rowell & Moring announced that Jan-Diederik Lindemans was promoted to partner in the firm’s Litigation and Trial and Intellectual Property groups. According to the firm, this coincides with the recent arrival of Geert Bogaert as Senior Counsel to the firm’s Dispute Resolution team. Bogaert is former head of the litigation and commercial law practice of Loyens & Loeff and was in charge of its Automotive team.

Atlanta-based Smith, Gambrell & Russell expanded its IP team in 2015 with three attorneys and one paralegal. James Bikoff, based in Washington DC, as Partner, will focus on trademarks, internet, domain name protection, and enforcement in the US and abroad. David Heasley (Counsel), Valeriya Sherman (Associate), and Darlene S. Klinksieck (Paralegal) are also joining the team.

Ropes & Gray recently named 20 new partners in eight offices worldwide. Among them, Kevin J. Post, Hassen A. Sayeed and Paul M. Schoenhard have been promoted to Partner, and Z. Ying Li has been promoted to Counsel.

Tavengwa Runyowa, a Zimbabwean-born lawyer, recently opened a civil litigation and dispute resolution law firm in Regina, Canada. The practice focus includes disputes involving farming and agriculture, professional discipline, the construction industry, employment law and contract disputes. Runyowa was a Researcher for Intellectual Property Watch in 2011.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP announced in October that Michelle Cooke joined the Los Angeles office as a Partner in the intellectual property group. Cooke comes from Steptoe & Johnson, LLP and was in charge of the trademark transactional practice. Also joining the intellectual property team in October were Robert Dickerson Jr, Yasser M. El-Gamal, and Lawrence LaPorte.

Pharma and biotech patent litigator Christine Willgoos joined Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP’s intellectual property practice as Special Counsel in October. Willgoos was previously Counsel at Paul Hastings.

Hugues Hubbard & Reed added two IP partners in New York: James Dabney and Stephen Rabinowitz in the fall. In January, they announced that John Duffy has joined the patent and IP practice as Of Counsel in the Washington office. Also to join the firm as Partner is Elizabeth Prewitt, former Assistant Chief of the Antitrust Division in the New York office of the US Department of Justice.

Simmons & Simmons expanded to Beijing and appointed George Chan who joined the firm as Partner last summer. Perkins Coie announced that Ann Schofield Baker joined the New York Office as Partner in the firm’s litigation practice. She is former head of McKool Smith’s national trademark and copyright litigation practice. At the same time, Linda Zirkelbach, former Counsel for the Potomac Law Group, PLLC, joined Venable LLP as Counsel in the firm’s Trademark, Copyright and Licensing Group in Washington.

Ropes & Gray last summer announced Evan Gourvitz joined as Counsel in the intellectual property litigation practice. In his previous position, Gourvitz was Director & Senior Counsel for Litigation at Diageo North America. And BakerHostetler welcomed Miriam Claire Beezy as a partner in its IP Group. Beezy served as Chief Trademark Counsel of the Walt Disney Company and represented biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. David Newman, formerly from Arnstein & Lehr LPP, also joined Loeb & Loeb as Senior Counsel in the firm’s Patent Litigation and Counselling Practice. Allan Gabriel was also named Director of law firm Dykema’s IP Department, based in Los Angeles.

Eric Gaum and Arland Stein have been co-chairs of the Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP Intellectual Property practice since last summer. Gaum formerly served as a domain name dispute administrative panellist for the World Intellectual Property Organization.

New York law firm Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP joined the Alliott Group last summer. The Alliott Group is a worldwide alliance of independent accounting, law and consulting firms.

Rachel Krevans, Morrison & Foerster first-chair IP trial lawyer, joined the IP Hall of Fame of ChIPs in the fall. ChIPs was founded by seven women heads of patents and intellectual property from major technology companies in Silicon Valley to support and promote the advancement, development and retention of women in technology and IP.

William New contributed to this article.