White House intellectual property chief steps down

Victoria Espinel, the White House's intellectual property chief, has stepped down from her role and may be vying to lead BSA | The Software Alliance, according to an article on The Hill.

Espinel was first appointed to this position in 2009, after it was created with the passage of the 2008 Pro-IP Act, which increased civil and criminal penalties for copyright, trademark and patent infringement. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, intellectual property theft costs businesses $250 billion and 750,000 jobs each year.

During her tenure, Espinel focused on working with private sector representatives to create a series of best practices to fight online piracy of digital files, as well as the sale of counterfeit products over the Internet. In addition, she lobbied Congress to make illegal streaming of content a felony in certain instances.

Her work seems to have influenced the White House's stance on these issues. The Hill reported that the White House is working with Internet giants like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to keep advertisements of websites known for piracy, thus depriving them of ad dollars. And as this blog has mentioned previously, President Obama has spoken out against misuse of patents and other intellectual property.

Howard Shelanski, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, will serve as Espinel's replacement in the interim.

Whoever is chosen to fill the role permanently will have a strong influence on how the administration treats intellectual property enforcement. Business owners should keep a close eye on the proceedings.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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