Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Robert Stoll, the Commissioner for Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has announced his retirement on 31 December 2011. Deputy Commissioner for Patents Margaret "Peggy" Focarino will be nominated to replace him, USPTO said today.
Resignations, retirements, appointments, and promotions are shaking up the status quo in the intellectual property world, opening the door of possibility for change in strategy and decision-making across industries and sectors.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that Trevor Mundel has been named president of the foundation's Global Health Program. Mundel is global head of development for Novartis Pharma in Basel, Switzerland and will start at Gates on 1 December.
The annual summer shuffle of the mission staff in Geneva has been particularly active this year for those with responsibility for intellectual property rights, with several key diplomats packing their bags, and new ones arriving.
The head of Geneva-based UNITAID, an innovative drug purchasing system for the global poor, will leave the post this month.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the appointment of a new deputy commissioner for trademarks, with oversight of examination and processing of applications.
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), which claims representation of 3 million creators and publishers, has named a new director general. Interestingly, he comes from a career in broadcasting.
A lawyer with experience representing copyright holders such as authors and museums today was named the top copyright official in the United States government.
Recent weeks have seen several personnel changes at Geneva institutions working on international intellectual property rights and innovation, including at missions, international organisations and foundations.
The technology industry - including Google, Microsoft, and Facebook - has a new lobbyist in Geneva.
The United States Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center has announced the addition of an executive vice president, joining from the brand-name pharmaceutical industry.
Patrick Ross, a former journalist who for the past three years was the executive director of the Copyright Alliance industry lobbying group in Washington, DC, has joined industry publication Managing IP as a reporter.