Managing IP Winter 2021 is now live

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

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

Managing IP Winter 2021 is now live

Kathi Vidal, who has been nominated for the USPTO director role

Read about Kathi Vidal, AI legal decisions, trademark piracy in China, and much more in our digital-only quarterly

To access the issue, click here

A new era beckons at the USPTO as Kathi Vidal, managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Silicon Valley office, looks set to become the office’s next director. She would be just the second woman to have held the role in more than 200 years.

However, we are being made to wait – Vidal may have been nominated by President Joe Biden, but she won’t be confirmed until the Senate says so. At the time of writing, that date is unconfirmed, and in the meantime the USPTO remains without a permanent leader despite the capable efforts of acting director Drew Hirshfeld, who is also patents commissioner.

With former director Andrei Iancu having departed in January 2021, it could be at least a year before we know whether Vidal will be the next director. That seems far too long.

Nonetheless, she would be a strong pick, at least according to the lawyers we have spoken to. Her leadership, managerial and litigation prowess will stand her in good stead for the role, our sources say, with one even describing her as a “powerhouse”.

That’s not to say, of course, that there won’t be challenging times ahead (assuming she is confirmed). Her biggest challenge will be managing the political turmoil surrounding discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the director review mandate set out by the Supreme Court in US v Arthrex. She may also have to manage the implementation of the Restoring the America Invents Act, should it be enacted by Congress.

You can read more about Vidal’s nomination and the road ahead in the cover story of this issue, which is our first digital-only quarterly. As you may be aware, we announced in October that we would no longer be printing magazines and would instead focus on fully digital products. There were a number of reasons for this change, not least the environmental concerns associated with printing and distributing publications globally.

Having said that, we are still able to offer this excellent issue in PDF form – and beyond the cover story mentioned above, you can find an array of expert analysis articles as well as the usual local insights updates from around the world. We hope you enjoy all of the content we have to offer.

Our next issue will be published in early 2022. The big question, though, is will we have a new USPTO director by then?

 

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The UK-India trade deal doesn’t mention legal services, showing India has again failed to agree on a move that could help foreign firms and local practitioners
Eva-Maria Strobel reveals some of the firm’s IP achievements and its approach to client relationships
Lateral hires at Thompson Hine and Pierson Ferdinand said they were inspired by fresh business opportunities and innovative strategies at their new firms
The launch of a new IP insurance product and INTA hiring a former USPTO commissioner were also among the top talking points this week
The firm explains how it secured a $170.6 million verdict against the government in a patent dispute surrounding airport technology, and why the case led to interest from other inventors
Developments of note included the court partially allowing a claim concerning confidentiality clubs and a decision involving technology used in football matches
The firm said adding capability in the French capital completes its coverage of all major patent litigation jurisdictions as it strives for UPC excellence
Marc Fenster explains how keeping the jury focused on the most relevant facts helped secure a $279m win for his client against Samsung
Clients are divided on what externally funded IP firms bring to the table, so those firms must prove why the benefits outweigh the downsides
Rahul Bhartiya, AI coordinator at the EUIPO, discusses the office’s strategy, collaboration with other IP offices, and getting rid of routine tasks
Gift this article