With Joe Biden being the president elect in the US election, there are questions rising about the effects that his presidency will have on IP. Biden’s presidential agenda lacks concrete details in regards to IP policy. However, indications of his stance on IP can be found on his “Made in all of America” platform page: https://joebiden.com/made-in-america/.
Despite the absence of specific details, it is generally mentioned on the platform that Biden plans to protect the American IP from foreign factors. This reference is supported by statements about “innovation” and the creation of “millions of new manufacturing and innovation jobs throughout all of America” during Biden presidency.
The Biden “Made in America” platform promises to “unleash high-quality job creation in high-value manufacturing and technology” by investing $300 million in research and development programs in areas such as electric vehicles, 5G networks and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the campaign promises $400 billion procurement investments on American-made goods and services which will result in the creation of 5 million American jobs in manufacturing and innovation. Biden seems to be opposing unfair trade policies and “the theft of American IP”.
Biden’s presidency raises concerns over return to the anti-patent Obama Era IP politics though. While serving as the Vice President to former President Barack Obama, Biden was part of an administration that was not tolerant with the most vulnerable stakeholders in America’s IP system. The Obama Administration introduced the America Invents Act (AIA) law which led to a series of patent proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). These trials were very controversial because of the massive burdens they had for patent owners seeking to defend their IP rights against infringements. Let’s hope that Biden will not be returning to these practices.
Eventually, we will need to wait and see what policy Biden will follow in regards to IP, but so far, it seems that patent and IP rights are not that high on his agenda.
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