USPTO’s OED deputy general counsel named acting deputy director
“Covey has been just as concerned with helping patent practitioners understand where the ethical lines are as he has been concerned with punishing inappropriate behavior.” – Gene Quinn
Will Covey
IPWatchdog has learned that Will Covey, who has been serving as Deputy General Counsel and Director for the Office of Enrollment and Discipline at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will be named Acting Deputy Director of the USPTO under Coke Morgan Stewart, who was named Acting Director last month.
Covey has been with the USPTO since 2000 and has held a number of positions. Gene Quinn, CEO and Founder of IPWatchdog, said that he is well liked and has “been just as concerned about helping patent practitioners understand where the ethical line is as he was concerned about punishing inappropriate behaviour.” He was a Special Assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey before joining the USPTO. He also served as an active duty officer in the Pentagon and a senior Army Reserve officer assigned to the Office of the Army Staff Office of the Judge Advocate General. Lutnick has invented in the software, process and gaming fields, and focused in his confirmation hearing on IP risks associated with China’s growing leadership in emerging technologies and the need to drastically reduce the current USPTO backlog of patent applications.
The Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) welcomed Lutnick’s confirmation today, and C4IP board co-chair and former USPTO director Andrei Iancu said in a statement that it “marks a pivotal moment for America’s innovation ecosystem.”
“As an experienced business leader, inventor, and patent holder, he is uniquely positioned to spearhead the forward-thinking, pro-intellectual property economic policy agenda that America needs,” Iancu added.
With Lutnick in Office and the USPTO’s executive team taking shape, an announcement about Trump’s nominee for USPTO Director could come soon. John Squires is the top candidate, according to rumors. He is currently Chair of Dilworth Paxson’s Emerging Companies and Intellectual Property practice and former Chief IP Counsel for Goldman Sachs.
Eileen McDermott, Editor-in Chief of IPWatchdog.com is a veteran IP and legal journalist. Eileen McDermott is a veteran IP journalist and has held editorial and management positions at
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