IP Policy Roundup | Edition 47

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.
  • Stewart also discussed her priorities in an interview with IP Fray, where she expressed particular enthusiasm for advancing legislative IP reforms.

C4IP Q&A Series: Coke Morgan Stewart

As Coke Morgan Stewart joins C4IP as President and CEO, we caught up with her for a wide-ranging Q&A. From her path to IP and the experiences that have informed her perspective to her priorities for C4IP and the interests and influences that have shaped her, Coke shares her thoughts below:

What first drew you to the IP space?

I was drawn to intellectual property because it sits at the intersection of so many things I care about — law, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and economic opportunity. The more time I spent in the field, the more I came to appreciate how uniquely American that idea is. Our Founders thought encouraging invention and creativity was important enough to put directly into the Constitution. More than two centuries later, that principle continues to help ensure the United States remains the most innovative country in the world.

You have worked across government, academia, and private practice, including serving as Deputy Director of the USPTO. How have those experiences shaped your understanding of what innovators need from the IP system?

My time at the USPTO reinforced for me that IP policy isn’t abstract. Decisions made in Washington affect whether someone gets funded, whether research becomes a product, whether a startup can compete against a much larger incumbent, and ultimately whether investment and innovation happen here in the United States or somewhere else. Innovators need a system that is predictable, accessible, efficient, and fair. And, above all, they need confidence that when the government grants an intellectual property right, that right is meaningful and enforceable.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the IP policy space today? Is there a common misconception about IP that makes addressing it more difficult?

One of the biggest challenges is that the conversation about IP too often begins with the assumption that intellectual property rights are barriers to competition rather than engines of competition. But that is profoundly wrong. A patent, for example, can give a small inventor or startup something essential: the ability to compete with a company that has vastly greater resources. Without enforceable IP rights, the company with the deepest pockets usually wins.

What’s one goal you hope to accomplish as C4IP’s President and CEO?

I would like C4IP to help broaden the conversation about intellectual property. IP policy shouldn’t be viewed as an issue just for IP lawyers or large companies. It is an economic policy issue, a small-business issue, a manufacturing issue, a national competitiveness issue, and increasingly a national security issue. My goal is to bring more inventors, creators, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, policymakers, and other voices into that conversation — and to make the connection between strong IP rights and the innovations Americans experience every day more tangible.

What advice would you give to young professionals, particularly women, interested in pursuing careers in IP?

Some of the best opportunities in my career came when I was willing to take on something new before I knew exactly how I was going to do it. Be willing to raise your hand and take assignments that stretch you. I would also encourage young women to invest in building relationships. We often have so many commitments at work and at home that we don’t invest enough in our professional and social networks. Those relationships are critical to future opportunities and to remaining resilient.

What is one object in your office that has a meaningful story behind it?

I have two American flags and one USPTO flag that were flown over the USPTO during my time there. They represent an important chapter in my career and the privilege of public service. The USPTO is an extraordinary institution with a long history of supporting American innovation, and I was incredibly fortunate to work alongside so many talented and dedicated people there. The flags are a reminder of that experience — and of the responsibility we all have to keep America’s innovation system strong for the next generation.

What book has stayed with you long after you finished it?

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I first read it years ago, and its central message has stayed with me — that even when we can’t control our circumstances, we can choose how we respond to them and find meaning in what we do. It’s an extraordinary book about strength, perspective, and purpose.

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.

Government Rundown

USPTO Event: Spend Your Lunch Break With Us: Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary and Trademarks

On August 26, the USPTO’s Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks hosted a lunchtime webinar as part of the agency’s America250 programming, exploring how trademarks have helped shape American commerce and identity across the nation’s history. The program underscored the enduring importance of brand protection in supporting businesses, safeguarding consumers, and fueling economic growth. (USPTO, 8/26)

USPTO Event: From the First U.S. Patent to the Next 250 Years of American Innovation

On August 4, the USPTO held a virtual program commemorating the 236th anniversary of the first U.S. patent — granted to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, and signed by George Washington — as part of the agency’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. USPTO leaders, including Director John Squires, traced America’s innovation history from Hopkins’ patent to the present day, highlighting how the patent system has empowered centuries of inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to drive American innovation leadership forward. (USPTO, 8/4)

Fact Check

The USPTO recently proposed requiring third-party requesters for ex parte reexamination to identify themselves and any real parties in interest to the Office, while allowing that information to remain confidential from the public. In comments submitted to the USPTO, C4IP supported the proposal’s goal of helping the Office better enforce statutory limits on repetitive patent challenges, while urging additional clarity on how requester confidentiality would be protected in practice. Below, we clarify three key points about the proposal:

Celebrating American Innovation

Inventor Spotlight

This month, C4IP is recognizing Dr. Patricia Bath (1942-2019), an ophthalmologist and inventor who helped revolutionize cataract treatment and restore sight to patients around the world.

• Bath was interested in science from a young age and dedicated herself to combating preventable blindness in underserved communities after learning during her ophthalmology internship that eye diseases like glaucoma were disproportionately common in Black communities.
• Researching ways to make cataract surgery more accurate and less invasive, Bath developed a way to use a laser to remove the clouded lens that required a much smaller incision than other existing methods
• In 1988, she was granted U.S. Patent No. 4,744,360 for an “apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses,” becoming the first African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical purpose.
  • In all, Bath acquired five U.S. patents as well as international patents in Japan, Canada, and several European countries.

• Bath’s invention — known as the Laserphaco Probe — revolutionized the treatment of cataracts and helped restore sight to millions of patients, including some who had been blind for decades.
  • Bath’s work addressed a condition that remains a global health challenge today, as cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness worldwide and were estimated to have caused blindness in 2 million people in 2020.
  • Globally, the Laserphaco Probe is estimated to be used in more than one in every 20 cataract surgeries.

• Bath’s invention — and her subsequent work to advocate for patients, which included co-founding the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness — illustrate how strong patent rights allow scientists and innovators to translate their work into tangible benefits for others.

[Photo: The New York Times]

What’s Happening in Congress

Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to weigh legislation to prioritize strengthening IP protections, including the reintroduction of several significant bills from the previous Congress:

• The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), which would revitalize innovation and investment in crucial high-tech sectors by reversing arbitrary, judicially created exceptions to patent eligibility.
• The Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act, which would level the legal playing field for inventors and give them a fair chance to defend their patents from unauthorized infringement by larger competitors.
• The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act, which was reintroduced in both the House and Senate. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would reestablish injunctive relief as the primary legal remedy for patent infringement, reaffirming innovators’ constitutional rights to the exclusive ownership of their inventions.
• The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, which would protect all individuals from having their voice and visual likeness copied by generative AI without consent.

We will continue to track movement on these bills and provide updates on legislative developments in upcoming editions. In the interim, you can find resources on these key issues here.