Hatch chairs new IP subcommittee
The Senate has established a Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Law, chaired by Senator Orrin Hatch. Hatch was previously chair of the Judiciary Committee, which handled IP matters at the full committee level, but has been succeeded in that position by Arlen Specter.
The committee's jurisdiction includes (1) Intellectual property laws, including those affecting patents, copyrights and trademarks; (2) Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; (3) Oversight of the U.S. Copyright Office; and (4) Oversight of the intellectual property laws, treaties and policies affecting international trade.
Membership consists of seven Republicans including Hatch (UT), Kyl (AZ), DeWine (OH), Graham (SC), Cornyn (TX), Brownback (KS), and Coburn (OK) - and six Democrats including Leahy (VT, ranking Democrat), Kennedy (MA), Biden (DE), Feinstein (CA), Kohl (WI) and Durbin (IL).
Cathy Kirkman is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Her practice focuses on intellectual