[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 14 (Thursday, January 31, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DAVID KAPPOS

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I want to congratulate David Kappos, 
whose last day as the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office, PTO, 
is today. Director Kappos's leadership of the PTO has been applauded by 
all segments of the intellectual property, IP, community. This is no 
easy feat. The IP community is as diverse as our economy, and the 
community's views on IP law are hardly uniform.
  I have known Director Kappos since well before he entered government 
service, and I was particularly pleased to chair his confirmation 
hearing in July 2009. Director Kappos was well suited to understand 
both how to manage a $2 billion office and meet the needs of inventors 
and innovators. He began his career as an engineer and worked in the IP 
law department of IBM in nearly all of its business units before 
finally managing all of IBM's IP law interests as vice president and 
assistant general counsel. IBM is a large employer in Vermont and one 
of the reasons that Vermont receives more patents per capita than any 
other State.
  Anyone who has met Director Kappos cannot help but be taken with his 
integrity and his clear passion for an intellectual property system 
that rewards inventors and creators. Those leadership qualities have 
motivated the PTO staff, which has reduced the time it takes to receive 
responses from the patent office on applications and, according to most 
experts, simultaneously improved the quality of patents that the PTO 
issues.
  Director Kappos played an instrumental role in the development and 
passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act--one of the few 
bipartisan, job-creating bills of the 112th Congress. Soon after being 
confirmed as Director in August 2009, he sat down to work with me and a 
bipartisan, bicameral group of Members to work out a consensus on 
patent reform legislation.
  Director Kappos's credibility within the patent community and his 
leadership was critical in bringing together the different interests to 
support the changes in the America Invents Act that will speed the time 
for high quality patents to issue from the PTO while providing more 
efficient methods for challenging low quality patents. Since enactment, 
Director Kappos and his team have set the PTO on course to implement 
the key provisions of the act, which will improve the patent system for 
decades.
  The America Invents Act was the highest profile law on which I worked 
with Director Kappos, but it was not the only one. Early in his tenure, 
the PTO recommended legislation that ultimately became the Trademark 
Technical Correction Act of 2010 and the Patent Law Treaties 
Implementation Act of 2012.
  Director Kappos's full title is Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office. This is one of the longest titles in government and underscores 
the vast responsibility he has had, and which is particularly important 
because IP is such a key driver of our economy.
  I am saddened that Director Kappos has decided to step down but 
heartened by how he has energized the PTO. The President and the 
Commerce Department have lost a valuable member of their economic team. 
I wish Dave all the best.

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