Brian Pomper and Ed Pagano Quoted in Law360 on Trump Administration’s Impact on IP Policy

Law360 has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy practice co-head Brian Pomper and fellow partner Ed Pagano in the article “IP Owners Have Usually Found Ally In Trump Administration.” The article looks back at what President Trump has meant for intellectual property policy during his term in office.

Pomper, who also serves as executive director of the Alliance for Trade Enforcement, said, “I think it’s fair to say as a general matter that the administration’s instincts have been pro-innovation and pro-intellectual property.” In particular, he pointed out, the White House has taken steps to balance a patent system that had been “in a lot of ways kind of biased against patent owners.”

The article reports that Mr. Trump, despite saying little about IP during his time in office, has been able to exert influence mainly through those he has appointed to key government departments, including Andrei Iancu as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Pomper noted that a common theme in Iancu’s public statements since taking office has been the importance of intellectual property to the economy and society, which has been a welcome development for IP owners. “Having him use the bully pulpit of being the director of USPTO to talk positively about IP is just wonderful,” he said.

“Iancu has really brought a lot of fairness back into the procedures of the patent office, so there’s much more balance now for the needs of patent holders,” said Pagano.

The article says President Trump has also used international trade to emphasize intellectual property protection, railing against Chinese companies stealing U.S. trade secrets from American businesses.

Pomper said a preliminary trade agreement between Beijing and Washington signed earlier this year that calls for China to put in place an “action plan” on protecting IP may not be a game-changer on IP, but “the sheer fact that they had to do an action plan … was positive. By putting that on paper, that’s pretty good.”

Looking ahead to the Biden administration, Pagano predicted that the U.S. government is likely to have a continued emphasis on China and IP, since the past four years have elevated IP to a concern for both parties.

“If there’s a legacy of the Trump administration, I think it will continue on through bipartisan legislation and concern about China not honoring intellectual property rights,” he said.