Johnson & Johnson announced on Dec. 9 that its top in-house intellectual property lawyer, Philip Johnson, plans to step down in February. He’ll be succeeded by another J&J IP lawyer, Robert DeBerardine.
The move comes amid speculation that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will select Johnson to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Other names under consideration include Kevin Rhodes, chief intellectual property counsel at 3M Co., and Alden Abbott of the Heritage Foundation and a former acting GC of the Commerce Department, as Corporate Counsel affiliate The National Law Journal reported here. Johnson, who was previously considered for the USPTO director’s job by President Barack Obama, told the NLJ that it “would be an honor” to serve as director.
