IBM's Patent Lawyer: From Reform Advocate To Mr. Fix-ItIBM's Patent Lawyer: From Reform Advocate To Mr. Fix-It

When I was researching an article on the U.S. Supreme Court re-shaping patent law two years ago, everyone kept telling me I needed to talk with David Kappos, IBM's top patent lawyer. Guess President Obama got the same advice.The President has nominated Kappos to become director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ars Technica's John Timmer notes Kappos is a nominee who, despite being an outspoken advocate of patent reform, is being accepted even by industries such as biotech that aren't keen on changing the system:

Kappos comes in amid a Supreme Court that has been steadily revising patent law over recent years, including a number of rulings that have made it tougher to get and defend patents. And it's about to take on one of the most explosive issues in patent law, and certainly in business-technoogy-business method patents, which patent tech-enabled ways of doing business. When I spoke with Kappos two years ago, he saw the court as ready to modernize the patent system for a world where innovation's more a collaborative and incremental process, particularly in IT:

Kappos comes in at a time when the Judiciary and Congress are driving toward substantial change in the U.S. patent system, and Kappos will be expected to bring the same change mentality to the Patent Office itself. He's been agitating for reform for years. Looks like it'll soon be his chance to deliver it.