US election 2020: five IP stories from the year

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

US election 2020: five IP stories from the year

Trump v Biden 2020 Presidential Election

As the Trump v Biden battle goes to the wire, Managing IP recaps on election-relevant stories from 2020

With several key states yet to declare, the US election is going to the wire – and may not even be decided today.

While you wait, Managing IP brings you five articles from 2020 that are relevant to the election. 

We will bring you more coverage when we know whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be the next US president. 

Election 2020: how politics shapes the pharma patent debate

Just a week before election day, reporter Charlotte Kilpatrick spoke to in-house counsel about how politics has attempted to chip away at patent rights in the pharma industry.

Sources said that while the result won’t have a dramatic impact on patents, they are keeping an eye on how politics could shape the pharma patent debate in the future nonetheless.

Iancu: there’s a lot still to be done – for me, or the next director

Americas editor Patrick Wingrove spoke to USPTO director Andrei Iancu, whom Trump appointed in 2017. 

In the interview, Iancu set out his hopes for the office, particularly in diversity and inclusion, and his proudest accomplishments since taking office in 2018.

Exclusive: DoJ antitrust chief reveals plans to leave in 2021

In October, Patrick Wingrove revealed that the head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division would step down after Trump’s first term regardless of the election result.

Makan Delrahim later reflected on his tenure as he prepares to depart – probably for the private sector.

Survey: in-house counsel on the US patent landscape

Long before election day, reporter Rani Mehta surveyed more than 50 in-house counsel on the state of the US patent landscape.

Among other findings, the survey showed that respondents wanted to see more remote hearings in the future and that Delaware (which happens to be Biden's home state) was their preferred court to litigate in.

In-house survey: Trump takes early edge over Biden on IP

As part of the survey in May, Rani Mehta found that Trump had taken an early edge over Biden, at least when it came to IP matters. 

When asked which man's IP views were better for their business, 20% voted Trump, 11% picked Biden, and the remainder either didn't know or picked neither candidate. 



more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Erise IP has added a seven-practitioner trademark team from Hovey Williams, signalling its intention to help clients at all stages of development
News of prison sentences for ex-Samsung executives for trade secrets violation and an opposition filed by Taylor Swift were also among the top talking points
A multijurisdictional claim filed by InterDigital and a new spin-off firm in Germany were also among the top talking points
Duarte Lima, MD of Spruson & Ferguson’s Asia practice, says practitioners must adapt to process changes within IP systems, as well as be mindful of the implications of tech on their practices
Practitioners say the UK Supreme Court’s decision could boost the attractiveness of the UK for AI companies
New awards, including US ‘Firm of the Year’ and Latin America ‘Firm to Watch’, are among more than 90 prizes that will recognise firms and practitioners
DWF helped client Dairy UK secure a major victory at the UK Supreme Court
Hepworth Browne led Emotional Perception AI to victory at the UK Supreme Court, which rejected a previous appellate decision that said an AI network was not patentable
James Hill, general counsel at Norwich City FC, reveals how he balances fan engagement with brand enforcement, and when he calls on IP firms for advice
In the second of a two-part article, Gabrielle Faure-André and Stéphanie Garçon at Santarelli unpick EPO, UPC and French case law to assess the importance of clinical development timelines in inventive step analyses
Gift this article