At least Director Kappos does not have to clean out his desk. The re-election of President Obama gives him another four years of job security – if he and his hard-working staff don’t burn out first. No matter what you think of the AIA, Director Kappos has done a remarkable job of proposing implementing regulations for its many new procedures. Apart from issuing rules by the bushel, he has been “tasked” with opening three new satellite offices. He has begun to develop guidance in non-AIA areas such as patenting diagnostic assays post-Prometheus. The defeat of President Obama might well have caused a return to the Rogan years of a “know nothing” [about patent law] Commissioner.
A President Romney surely would have supported repeal of “Obamacare”. No matter what you think of the more controversial parts of the law, it also contains the outline of procedures to approve generic biologicals, a way to cut healthcare costs that is long overdue. At least the players can continue to move forward, and not be put into limbo or returned to the starting line to run a race with new rules.
