As deputy editor of IAM, I’m responsible for the US patent policy beat. The patent world is global in nature, and US policy often impacts the patent policies of other nations. When US patent policy intersects with other countries, I cover these international political topics. Here is an example of an international political story that …
Category: Politics
US patent policy coverage
Covering US patent policy is a major part of my beat at IAM. The agencies that I normally cover include: Here is an example of a policy story I covered recently.
No Future for Men in Democratic Party? Female Dems Oust 8 Male Judges in Texas
Women lawyers who threw their hats in the ring to run for judge this primary season made a good bet. As Texas voters in the Democratic Primary hit the polls Tuesday, it appears they picked female judge candidates. Female Democratic challengers ousted five incumbent male judges in Houston, two in Austin and one in San …
No One Dared To Run Against 70% of Texas District Judges —And That’s the Way It’s Always Been
Statistics show that incumbent judges across Texas enjoy an advantage when they run for reelection. Nearly 70% of the incumbent judges running for reelection this year sailed to another term with absolutely no contest in their primaries or the general election. This year in Texas, 145 of 341 total judicial candidates, or 43%, had no opponent …
Bribery, Coercion, Abuse: Look Inside the Allegations Against Ken Paxton
The whistleblowers who have accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of crimes in office have raised serious allegations, but any prosecution based on their complaint is likely to face an uphill battle, according to criminal law experts. Pages and pages of details of the criminal allegations became public last week when four of the seven …
Can She Say That? Texas Judge Sanctioned Over ‘Pussyhat’, Comment About Governor
A pink beanie with cat ears that she called her “pussyhat” while talking about reproductive health care has brought a public admonition for former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt. But a prominent First Amendment attorney said he thinks the sanction is unconstitutional. Eckhardt, who resigned this year to run—and win—a race for the Texas Senate, was …
‘Political Theater’: Ethics Experts Expect Cruz, Hawley Disbarment Petitions to Fall Flat
Experts say it’s unlikely that a petition seeking disbarment of Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, for allegedly lying about election fraud and inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection would spur bar prosecutors to launch discipline cases. But one of the seven Yale Law School students who organized the petition, which has garnered nearly 11,000 signatures in …
Seeking to Squelch ‘Litigation Maker,’ Texas Tort Reformers Eye COVID-19 Liability Bill
When it comes to laws making it harder to sue over COVID-19 exposure, Texas lawmakers during this year’s legislative session will get the chance to join other states and the federal government. Behind the scenes of the legislative session, a coalition of tort reform lobbyists and business associations are putting the final touches on a bill …