原標題：拜登提名Kathi Vidal（凱瑟琳·維達爾）為美國專利商標局局長候選人，可能會面臨參議院的斗爭？
美國東部時間10月26日，美國總統拜登表示他將提名凱瑟琳·維達爾（Kathi Vidal）為下一任負責知識產權的商務部副部長兼美國專利和商標局局長。如果她上任，她將成為繼前總統奧巴馬任命米歇爾·李之后第二位被確認領導專利局的女性。
美國東部時間10月26日，美國總統拜登表示他將提名凱瑟琳·維達爾(Kathi Vidal)為下一任負責知識產權的商務部副部長兼美國專利和商標局局長。
Vidal 是專利訴訟律師，精通人工智能，她最近的客戶包括 airbnb chamberlain 集團和 sap america。在2017年加入 winston & strawn 之前，她在 fish & richardson pc 工作了20年。她的業務跨越了地區法院，聯邦巡回法院，專利審判和上訴委員會，以及美國國際貿易委員會。
在轉行做私人律師之前，維達爾曾為聯邦巡回法官阿爾文 · 沙爾當過助手。這位賓夕法尼亞大學凱里法學院(carey law school)畢業生此前曾獲得紐約州立大學賓厄姆頓分校(state university of new york at binghamton)的電氣工程學士學位和雪城大學的電氣工程碩士學位。
根據她在 linkedin 上的個人資料，她在通用電氣(general electric)做了三年工程師，在20世紀80年代末和90年代初在洛克希德馬丁(lockheed martin)做了兩年工程師。在這兩個角色中，她都大量使用人工智能。
拜登也指出了她擔任專利訴訟律師、洛克希德·馬丁公司和通用電氣公司的工程師背景，以及她與旨在提高女性知識產權和為初級律師提供機會的組織的合作。
維達爾現在面臨著參議院司法委員會的聽證會，該委員會的知識產權小組委員會的兩位領導人對她的提名有明顯不同的反應。
小組委員會主席參議員。民主黨人帕特里克·萊希在一份聲明中祝賀維達爾，并說他期待聽到她“繼續提高專利質量，同時遏制濫用專利系統”，以及“向所有背景的美國人擴大獲得專利系統”的想法。
萊希說：“對于該機構來說，有一個支持其促進美國的創造力和競爭力使命的永久領導人至關重要。”
相比之下，知識產權小組委員會辦公室的高級成員共和黨人湯姆·蒂利斯在一份聲明中說，他“從一開始就明確表示，任何首席技術官主任的提名人都必須承諾繼續進行上一屆政府的改革，并為創新和發明者發出強有力的發言權，任何不這樣做的人都得不到選票。他期待著回顧凱西·維達爾的記錄，看看她是否能做出這些承諾并通過測試。”
如果維達爾上任，她將成為繼前總統奧巴馬任命米歇爾·李之后第二位被確認領導專利局的女性。
此前，拜登任命克里斯托弗.威爾遜(Christopher Wilson)擔任美國貿易代表辦公室(USTR)的創新和知識產權首席談判代表。該職位自2015年設立以來一直空缺。
威爾遜在USTR工作了20年，曾擔任美國創新和知識產權事務的副助理貿易代表(2006—2008年)和多個美國助理貿易代表職位。他目前擔任美國對南亞和中亞事務的助理貿易代表。
創新和知識產權首席談判代表職位于2015年設立，作為2015年《貿易便利化和貿易實施法》的一部分。該職位的職責包括“進行貿易談判和執行與美國知識產權相關的貿易協定，并采取適當措施應對外國政府對美國創新價值產生重大不利影響的行動、政策和做法。”
威爾遜將向拜登提名的USTR代表凱瑟琳.戴(Katherine Tai)匯報，她在2021年3月宣誓就任。
附：
USPTO Pick Touted By Attys, But May Face Senate Fight
By Ryan Davis
The nomination of Winston & Strawn LLP partner Kathi Vidal to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was welcomed by observers who said her patent experience should give her insight into how to improve the office, though two key senators appear divided on the pick.
In President Joe Biden's announcement of Vidal's nomination on Tuesday, he pointed to her two decades as a patent litigator, background as an engineer at Lockheed Martin and General Electric, and her work with organizations aimed at advancing women in IP and providing opportunities for junior attorneys.
Sarah Guske of Baker Botts LLP, who briefly worked on a matter with Vidal last year, said that combination of experience makes her "a very sound choice."
"I think that her nomination is a solid one from the administration. She's got the right mix of experience within the IP and patent world," Guske said. Having represented clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in patent cases, Vidal "might also bring a balanced, practical perspective for how policies play out on both sides," she added.
Vidal now faces a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the two leaders of the panel's IP subcommittee had notably different reactions to her nomination.
Subcommittee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., congratulated Vidal in a statement and said he looked forward to hearing about her ideas for "continuing to improve patent quality while curbing abuse of the patent system" and "expanding access to the patent system to Americans from all backgrounds."
"It is critical for the agency to have a permanent leader in place who will support its mission of promoting American ingenuity and competitiveness," Leahy said.
In contrast, the office of the ranking member of the IP subcommittee, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, said in a statement that he "has been clear from the beginning that any nominee for PTO director will have to commit to continuing the reforms of the last administration and to being a strong voice for innovation and inventors."
"Anyone who fails to do that won't get his vote. He looks forward to reviewing Kathi Vidal's record and seeing if she can make those commitments and pass that test," the statement said.
The statements suggest that Vidal's confirmation hearing might focus on policies implemented by previous USPTO Director Andrei Iancu, such as providing more discretion to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to deny petitions challenging patents, and issued guidance seen as making it less likely that patent applications will be rejected for claiming ineligible subject matter.
Tillis has urged the White House to pick a director who will retain those policies and "ensure the USPTO doesn't return to being viewed as a 'death squad.'" Leahy has said Iancu "took steps to undermine" the America Invents Act, and that the next director should focus more on ways to "weed out poor-quality patents."
When Vidal faces the committee, "she's going to be grilled about all of these items, and I think she certainly has the experience to be able to address them," said Emer Simic of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP. "But I expect she will be tight-lipped as to her personal views."
She added that with respect to the PTAB's discretionary denials, "as the new PTO director, Vidal will have the power to either reverse ... or extend that policy, so it remains to be seen what she'll do, but she's certainly in a very interesting spot."
Former Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel said in an interview on Tuesday that it's not clear from Vidal's past statements or activities how she might address the issues the senators have raised if she becomes USPTO director, and the confirmation hearing might not make it clearer.
However, Judge Michel, who earlier this year publicly suggested Vidal as a nominee to the Federal Circuit, said that "her experience and track record as a top IP and patent litigator is very strong and impressive." Her technical skills and experience as managing partner of Winston & Strawn's Silicon Valley office will be beneficial in leading the patent office, he added.
Yet, he noted that managing a law firm is different from managing a government agency with thousands of employees, many of whom are unionized, so "that'll be something she'll have to learn on the job," much as Iancu, who had been an attorney at Irell & Manella LLP, had to do.
The selection of a patent litigator with a diverse range of clients suggests that "this is someone who appreciates both sides, so I think that makes her an attractive candidate," said Scott McKeown of Ropes & Gray LLP.
"You want someone that knows the system and has been in the system and seen the pitfalls and is aware of some of the things that need to be fixed," McKeown said.
In her work as an attorney in Silicon Valley, Vidal has represented a number of Big Tech companies, including Cisco, Dell, SAP and PayPal. But Jason Sobel of Brown Rudnick LLP said, "I wouldn't read too much into any of the clients she's represented and what their positions have been."
"I'm sure she's a zealous advocate, and she's advocating for her clients," he said. "Now she has the opportunity to use her own experience to set policy."
Sobel said he was pleased to see that Vidal has represented both patent owners and accused infringers in cases involving the contentious question of patent eligibility, so "she should have a very firm grasp on an issue that is front and center right now."
Vidal's work for the tech industry, which often takes positions that are viewed as hostile to patents, may "give some people pause that she will be overly sympathetic to the complaints of big tech," Judge Michel said.
The USPTO director is "running a national organization on behalf of the people of the country and the whole government," he said. "So they've got to be strong and steady and not let their sympathies or past loyalties impair their judgement or their actions, and obviously it can be done."
The USPTO has made an effort in recent years to improve diversity in the patent system, and that has been a focus for Vidal. She is an advISOry board member for ChIPs, a nonprofit that connects women in technology, law and policy, and if she takes office, she would become the second woman ever confirmed to lead the patent office, after former President Barack Obama appointee Michelle Lee.
"As a female patent practitioner, it's wonderful to see another woman appointed to a senior leadership role in patent law," Simic of Neal Gerber said. "It's not just that she's a woman, she's actually led diversity efforts on her own prior to this role. So I think we can expect to see further efforts in that regard when she's /confirm/ied."
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