Orrin Hatch: “I rise in support of the nomination of Andrei Iancu to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and…”

“I rise in support of the nomination of Andrei Iancu to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO is critically important. It is a critically important agency that stands at the crossroads of innovation, technology, and property rights. It is tasked with ensuring that our laws properly compensate ingenuity and invention, while at the same time stopping bad actors who seek to game the system. Intellectual property has been a focus of mine throughout my entire Senate service. Early in my tenure, I authored the Hatch-Waxman Act, which made possible the rise of the modern generic drug industry. More recently, I played a key role in the America Invents Act, which rebalanced our patent system to ensure high-quality patents and reduce abusive litigation. Just last Congress, I authored the Defend Trade Secrets Act, a landmark piece of legislation that created a federal private cause of action to prevent trade secret theft and other nefarious activity. I have also led the charge against patent trolling--the practice of buying up patents solely for the purpose of bringing lawsuits--and argued forcefully that forum shopping in patent cases must not be allowed. I was gratified to see the Supreme Court last year strike a blow against abusive forum shopping in its TC Heartland decision. In my remaining months here in this body, I intend to continue ahead full-bore on intellectual property reform.…”