LES Meets On Capitol Hill, With USPTO And JPO

By Brian P. O’Shaughnessy, Chairman of the Board & President, LES (USA & Canada)

I am very pleased to report another very successful LES Spring Meeting. The meeting was held May 9-11 at the historic and stately Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. The Willard is reputedly the birthplace of the term “lobbyists,” and where Kentucky statesman Henry Clay introduced the mint julep to Washington, DC. A fitting setting as we assembled lobbyist, jurists, staff and former members of Congress, representatives from the FTC and ITC, as well as senior corporate executives and licensing experts to debate the topic: “Stronger Economies Through Licensing – Is IP Policy Making or Breaking Your Deals?” And, of course, we debriefed each day’s proceedings with characteristic LES geniality, and the optional mint julep.

While in DC, LES participated in meetings on Capitol Hill, and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On Tuesday May 9th, an LES delegation of Past President Jeff Whittle, President-elect Bill Elkington, CEO Kim Chotkowski, and President-elect nominee Bob Held joined me in meeting with Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Michelle Lee, at her invitation at the USPTO. Later that same day, back at the Willard, we met with a delegation from the Japan Patent Office to discuss how LES might help advance the practice of licensing in Japan. And the following day, we met with Senator David Vitter, formerly Chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. At those meetings, and throughout the Spring Meeting, we discussed the role of LES in public policy, and how we can be a positive influence to ensure that IP laws and policies enhance the greater good, promote the progress of science and the useful arts, and stimulate economic growth and development, roughly in that order.

Worth special mention is the support we received for the LES Standards initiative. This initiative typically invokes first skepticism, followed by enthusiastic support. And we witnessed that here. In brief, the initiative seeks to bring the entire IP ecosystem together to develop standards whereby IP management can be more effectively and efficiently practiced. This is not standards in the sense of standard essential patents (SEPs), but rather industry-derived voluntary consensus standards developed according to a protocol approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). LES is an ANSI certified Standards Developing Organization (SDO), and will work with the entire industry to develop IP management standards that are generally accepted as prudent, responsible, and ethical. Working groups include IP valuation, IP in the supply chain, IP in the boardroom, and others. 

In our meetings with Director Lee, Sen. Vitter, the Japan Patent Office, and in a special spotlight plenary session, the development of voluntary consensus standards was hailed as a useful vehicle for improving IP management, for promoting effective IP policy, and for elevating the practice of IP management, generally. We see the Standards Initiative as an informed and effective alternative to the blunt instruments of legislation and government regulation, and an opportunity for the members of the IP community to take control of their own destiny.

We encourage you to join us in this and other worthy pursuits. Get involved in LES, and make a difference. Whether you choose meeting planning or standards development, we encourage your participation, and we welcome your fellowship. So, join us in Chicago for our Annual Meeting, October 22-25, to learn more about LES Standards, and how to get more involved in LES.

Very best regards,
Brian

At the Embassy of Canada Welcome Reception: Jordan Khan (left), Kim Chotkowski, Justin Lewis, Brian O’Shaughnessy and Gilles Gauthier.