Obama’s IP Chief Resigns
Victoria Espinel, intellectual property chief at the White House, has stepped down from her official position as of August 9, 2013. Espinel was the first person to ever serve as the official intellectual property enforcement officer at the White House, a position that was established through Congressional legislation in 2008 but was not filled until her appointment and Senate confirmation in 2009. Although the reason for her departure is not yet clear, some experts speculate that she is a leading candidate to succeed Robert Holleyman as the CEO of BSA, a trade organization that represents various intellectual property corporate giants like Microsoft. Her tenure as the intellectual property enforcement officer will undoubtedly be influential (if only because she was the first person to hold that position) as she was involved with defining the ways in which the Obama administration, which has been proclaimed by many in the media as the most technologically savvy presidency in history, connected with intellectual property. Some of her undertakings include various programs that sought to encourage private corporations to develop newer and better ways of combating piracy, advocacy for making the illegal streaming of videos online a felony (as opposed to its current misdemeanor status), and partnering with tech companies like Google and Yahoo to spread information about intellectual property to the masses.
Currently, Howard Shelansky, the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is filling in as interim intellectual property enforcement officer until a suitable replacement can be found for Espinel. Shelansky undoubtedly has some big shoes to fill for the time being but the next official IP chief will undoubtedly feel intimidated having to follow up Espinel’s incredibly successful tenure, especially considering she filled the position before there were even clear implications for what an IP chief was supposed to do or how she was to perform those duties.
Naturally, whoever fills Espinel’s position will be responsible for the shape that intellectual property rights go for probably the rest of the Obama administration (possibly even longer if the person does her job well enough to be retained by the subsequent president). While the intellectual property enforcement officer ostensibly follows the president’s decisions when it comes to IP, it is also important to realize that the person who will be picked for this position will undoubtedly be an expert in the field with his or her own opinion on what should happen with IP rights and he or she can and most likely will influence the president’s decisions when it comes to forming IP policy for the next three years. As of this time, it is completely unknown who will be chosen for the position and the press hasn’t even speculated on who may be top candidates so there is no point in guessing the ways in which the current administrations IP policies might change, but it is still good to be mindful of the fact this position change could signal an important shift in intellectual property debates for the next couple of years. Hopefully the administration will release a list of likely candidates or name its chosen employee soon so we will know the full implications of this event.
Kevin James
Intern at
JAFARI LAW GROUP®, INC.