David Kappos

David Kappos (right) being sworn in as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director, by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, as Kappos's wife, Leslie, holds the bible, August 13, 2009

David "Dave" J. Kappos is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Prior to being confirmed to this post by the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2009,^[1] Kappos was the vice president and assistant general counsel, intellectual property law, for IBM Corporation.^[2] The White House announced its intent to nominate Kappos to his present post on June 18, 2009.^[2]

Kappos received his bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Davis in 1983, and his law degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1990. He joined IBM in 1983 as a development engineer and has served in a variety of roles before taking his last position at IBM, including intellectual property law attorney in IBM's Storage Division and Litigation group, IP Law Counsel in IBM's Software Group, assistant general counsel for IBM Asia/Pacific, IBM Corporate Counsel and assistant general counsel. Kappos served on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the International Intellectual Property Society.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} USPTO web site, David Kappos Confirmed as Patent and Trademark Office Director, August 7, 2009. Consulted on August 10, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b} President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, June 18, 2009.

Further reading and listening

• Rick Merritt, IBM exec picked to head patent office, EE Times, June 18, 2009.
• Dennis Crouch, David Kappos: Next USPTO Director, Patently-O blog, June 18, 2009.
• Mr. David Kappos, Biography (UNC Symposium for Intellectual Property, Creativity, and the Innovation Process)
• William New, USPTO Nominee Kappos Appears To Clear First Senate Hurdle, Intellectual Property Watch, 29 July 2009
• United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Hearing of David J. Kappos, July 29, 2009.
• Kappos, David J.; John R. Thomas Randall J. Bluestone (2008). "A Technological Contribution Requirement for Patentable Subject Matter: Supreme Court Precedent and Policy". Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property 6 (2): 152–170. http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/njtip/v6/n2/1/. 

External links

• Director's Forum: David Kappos' Public Blog

Government offices
Preceded by Jon Dudas (acting since January 2009: John J. Doll)	Head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office July 29, 2009 - Present	Succeeded by Incumbent

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Name	Kappos, David J.
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