IP veteran and litigator Coke Morgan Stewart sworn in 1 minute after Trump takes workplace
BY GENE QUINN
All Eye on Washington tales initially appeared
at IPWatchdog.com.
At 12:01 p.m. on January 20, a minute after President Donald Trump took the oath of workplace to start out his second time period as president, Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as the brand new deputy undersecretary of commerce for mental property and deputy director of the US Patent and Trademark Workplace.
The ceremony happened in Washington, D.C., at the US Division of Commerce.
The place of deputy director just isn’t a Senate-confirmable place, which permits the Trump Administration to put Stewart into the company on Day 1. She’s going to instantly start serving as appearing undersecretary and appearing director of the USPTO and can assume the function of deputy upon Senate affirmation of whoever President Trump in the end selects to be the following undersecretary and director.
There isn’t any phrase on who President Trump will nominate to be the following undersecretary of commerce for mental property and director of the USPTO, though it’s broadly believed that the particular person beforehand seen because the frontrunner for that place, Intel’s director of IP coverage Vishal Amin, is now not a candidate. Interviews for the place proceed.
Stewart is thought to be a powerful believer within the U.S. patent system and patent rights. She is broadly anticipated to be an ally to all innovators however notably to startups, small- and medium-size enterprises and extremely IP-intensive analysis and growth corporations that survive solely due to the rights conferred by a U.S. patent.
In truth, she is believed to share an analogous philosophy on patents with Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s nominee to be the following secretary of commerce. Lutnick, a prolific inventor who has made many thousands and thousands of {dollars} together with his patented innovations, appears by all accounts to be very strongly pro-patent.
Stewart is not any stranger to the USPTO, and people who have spoken with IPWatchdog have indicated that whereas on the workplace she was nicely preferred and extremely revered inside and outdoors the company. Beforehand on the USPTO, Stewart served in varied senior administration roles over greater than a decade, starting from senior adviser to appearing deputy solicitor to appearing chief of workers.
In 2021, Stewart left the USPTO to turn out to be deputy legal professional common for Virginia, accountable for the areas of well being care, training and social providers—a task she held for almost two years. She then joined O’Melveny & Myers LLP, a world legislation agency with 18 places of work and greater than 800 attorneys. She primarily practiced representing each patent holders and accused infringers in advanced patent issues.
She replaces Derrick Brent, who has been operating the company since former Director Kathi Vidal left in mid-December.
