In Long-Awaited Move, President Obama Appoints IP Czar

In a long-awaited move, President Obama has nominated the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, otherwise known as the "IP Czar."  This position was created with the enactment of the PRO-IP Act, which former President Bush signed into law on October 3, 2008.  He deferred nominating anyone for the IP Czar position until the Act received partial funding, which did not occur until 2009, and until the next president took office.

On September 25, 2009, President Obama nominated Victoria Espinel , who currently serves as a visiting assistant professor at the George Mason University School of Law.  Her nomination awaits confirmation by the Senate.

Some are calling Ms. Espinel the Copyright Czar, but that title is too narrow, since her role stretches beyond mere copyright issues.  She will chair the newly created IP Enforcement Coordinator advisory committee, comprised of representatives from multiple federal departments, and her primary responsibility will be to coordinate efforts across the entire federal government to protect American intellectual property in all its forms.

You can read more about the expected role of the IP Czar in the context of IP reform, in an article entitled "The PRO-IP Act: Another Weapon Against a Failing Economy," which Dylan Ruga and I wrote, and which the American Bar Association published in the January/February 2009 issue of Landslide.