August Highlights: C4IP Names Coke Morgan Stewart as President and CEO
On August 17, C4IP announced that Coke Morgan Stewart, a nationally recognized leader in intellectual property law and policy and former acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has joined the organization as President and CEO. Stewart most recently served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO, where she also served as acting director in 2025. During her nearly 12 years of service at the USPTO, she worked for four directors across four administrations from both parties, and she has held senior legal and policy roles across government, academia, and private practice, including as a deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Stewart’s appointment marks an important new chapter for C4IP as it expands its reach and advocacy for strong and secure intellectual property rights. Her wealth of expertise in both the public and private sectors has given her a unique perspective on the role and importance of strong IP rights, as well as an understanding of what it takes to lead a bipartisan coalition. As C4IP celebrated Stewart’s appointment throughout August, she quickly set to work outlining her vision for C4IP’s future growth and impact.
- C4IP issued a statement announcing Coke Morgan Stewart as President and CEO.
- Stewart’s appointment was covered in articles in Law360 and World Intellectual Property Review, which noted Stewart’s exceptional record of pro-IP leadership, and was also featured in POLITICO‘s Playbook and Influence.
- Stewart was interviewed by IPWatchdog on her goals for C4IP’s future, which include strengthening the organization’s advocacy efforts and building bipartisan support for patent reform legislation such as the PREVAIL Act.
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- Stewart also discussed her priorities in an interview with IP Fray, where she expressed particular enthusiasm for advancing legislative IP reforms.
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Additional Coalition Updates
- On September 23, C4IP will host a webinar, “Idea Factories: The Engine Behind America’s Innovation Economy,” to discuss University of Southern California law Professor Jonathan Barnett’s recent report on idea factories. It will feature an expert panel — moderated by bestselling author Safi Bahcall — consisting of Professor Barnett, CSIS Non-Resident Expert Kirti Gupta, C4IP Co-Chair Andrei Iancu, and C4IP President and CEO Coke Stewart. Click here to register.
- On August 21, C4IP submitted comments to the USPTO responding to its recent proposal to require third-party requests for ex parte reexamination to identify all real parties in interest to the request, expressing C4IP’s broad support for the intent behind the proposal but requesting additional clarification on how the USPTO would protect the anonymity of requesters.
- C4IP’s comments were featured in coverage of the proposal from IPWatchdog, Law360, and MLex.
- On August 18, C4IP Executive Director Frank Cullen appeared on the Teaching Matters podcast, hosted by Ohio University’s Scott Titsworth, to warn back-to-school shoppers about the financial and safety risks posed by counterfeit products and offer tips on how to avoid harmful fakes.
- On August 11, C4IP’s support for the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), which would clarify confusion around patent eligibility in several high-tech sectors, was cited in a JD Supra analysis of the bill that noted how patent uncertainty has inadvertently stifled investment.
- On August 4, C4IP’s support for the recent appointment of Peter-Anthony Pappas, the former Director of Intellectual Property Policy for the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, to the U.S. International Trade Commission was mentioned in an IPWatchdog article covering Pappas’ swearing-in.