The White House plans to tap Philip Johnson,...

The White House plans to tap Philip Johnson, chief intellectual property counsel for pharmaceutical and medical device company Johnson & Johnson, to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said a Friday blog post by Foley & Lardner patent lawyer Hal Wegner (http://bit.ly/1nZttEf). Citing “reliable sources,” Wegner said, “there has been an overwhelmingly positive reaction to this development amongst insiders who see in Johnson a strong, capable leader with extensive experience both in management of patents at a major pharmaceutical company as well as many years as a first chair patent litigator.” As the frequent face of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, Johnson opposed a number of provisions in the recently failed patent law revamp efforts (CD April 28 p10), which many tech trade groups had supported (CD May 22 p11). The White House did not comment.