What RFK, Jr.’s VP Pick Could Mean for IP

Unbiased Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s Vice-Presidential operating mate, Nicole Shanahan, a mercurial patent analyst, mental property lawyer and by the way wealthy entrepreneur, is within the place to affect declining patent reliability and rising copyright abuse. However will she?

This column shouldn’t be supposed to opine on Shanahan’s deserves as an impartial Vice-Presidential candidate, however to aim to know her motivation for operating and its potential affect on IP rights, creators and assignees.

It’s well-known that Shanahan was married for 4 years to Google founder Sergey Brin, earlier than formally divorcing in 2022. She gave delivery to their daughter in 2019 and their divorce separation, according to Forbes, left her with not less than $400 million in Alphabet inventory (2.6 million shares). Others speculate her post-divorce internet value could possibly be greater than $1 billion. Brin is at the moment the ten^th richest particular person on this planet, in line with Bloomberg Information and Forbes, with a internet value of $119 billion. In keeping with monetary disclosure paperwork over a three-year interval, as reported in Wikipedia, Shanahan’s Bia-Echo Foundation’s sole donor was Sergey Brin. In 2020, Brin donated not less than $23 million in shares of Alphabet. Since then, Shanahan has pledged $100 million.

Shanahan was stated to have paid for the controversial Tremendous Bowl advert for Kennedy that drew on his ties to his well-known uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and father, Legal professional Common Robert Kennedy. The Kennedy household was not happy.

Extra to the purpose, Shanahan labored as an analyst for RPX, the defensive patent aggregator, and was a analysis assistant for Colleen Chien, a identified patent skeptic who coined the time period patent assertion entity (PAE) and labored within the Obama administration. Chien previously taught legislation at Santa Clara and has since joined the UC Berkeley Legislation College college.

Shanahan founded ClearAccess IP in Palo Alto in 2013, a monetary know-how firm that gives a platform for monetary valuations, analytics, and aggressive intelligence for patents.

Her vice-presidential candidacy is a chance to convey to nationwide consideration to the disaster in mental property rights – however will it?

ClearAccess IP was acquired for an undisclosed sum in 2020 by Erich Spangenberg’s IPwe, an built-in patent administration firm “utilizing AI to assist the creators and house owners of IP property successfully develop, handle and transact patent-protected know-how.”

IPwe initially partnered with IBM, however on March 5 filed for Chapter 7 liquidation. Spangenberg, who was thought to be profitable however aggressive patent enforcer within the Nineties and 2000s, had the suitable thought for his for his IP-transacting block chain platform, however couldn’t ship on the promise with out further capital. It’s unclear what IPwe paid for ClearAccess IP or if it has retained any asset worth for collectors.

Shanahan’s cut up from Brin was reported in the Wall Street Journal as the results of a supposed fling with Elon Musk, which she vehemently denies. Shanahan is married to her third husband, Jacob Strumwasser, who at the moment serves because the vice chairman at Lightning Labs, which develops software program that powers the Lightning Community for Bitcoin. She describes him, per People, as a former Wall Road Man whom she met final 12 months on the Burning Man Competition.

The Kennedy Ethos 

What’s a patent analyst, IP lawyer, entrepreneur and ex-wife of Sergey Brin doing operating with the impartial candidate and potential Biden reelection spoiler?

Kennedy is a identified anti-vaccination proponent, well being coverage skeptic and avid environmentalist. He has flirted with operating as a Libertarian candidate. He has additionally dismissed the severity of the January 6 assault on the USA Capitol that left 5 useless and 174 police injured.

It’s unclear if his beliefs are merely anti-establishment or lengthen to IP rights abuses. Some libertarians establish positively with the level-the-playing discipline exclusivity offered by some patents and copyrights, in concept a useful resource for impartial inventors and creators. Others view IP rights as extra authorities interference within the lives of companies and other people.

By way of her motivation for operating, Shanahan has said that her daughter is on the autism spectrum and reports have indicated that Kennedy’s anti-vax place might attraction to her due to the regularly debunked junk-science linking autism with childhood vaccines.

There are far richer gamers with political aspirations that Kennedy might need known as on. Shanahan is a Silicon Valley lawyer, an IP analyst and an educational fellow at CodeX, however a questionably profitable tech entrepreneur. Her worth to the ticket could possibly be enhanced by her seen dedication to IP rights. Getting Kennedy and his followers to pay attention, I’m afraid, won’t be straightforward. The Biden administration’s misdirected pursuit of patent march-in rights is simply the form of difficulty on which she will rating factors and present her depth.

Shanahan’s vice-presidential candidacy is a chance to convey to nationwide consideration the disaster in mental property rights. That’s unlikely given her documented possession of lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} of Alphabet inventory (Class B shares, says Forbes—a Class B share is a designation for a share class of a widespread or most popular inventory that sometimes has strengthened voting rights or different advantages).

Shanahan is well-equipped to debate the rising lack of patent certainty since passage of the America Invents Act in 2011; the hazard to SMEs and inventors by serial infringers; and the risk to innovation and inventive expression attributable to generative AI and different companies, like ChatGPT and Bard (now Gemini), that relegate the content material of their datasets to truthful use when they need to be paying for them and may properly afford to. .

Reform Celebration VP candidate Pat Choate, who ran with Ross Perot in 1996 was an avowedly pro-patent economist, wrote a guide titled, “Hot Properties: The Stealing of Ideas in the Age of Globalization.” It stays one of many clearer explanations in regards to the overseas and home risk to IP rights and its affect. Perot and Choate garnered 8.4% of the favored vote.

Steppingstone?

The VP race could also be a chance for Shanahan, who might ultimately run domestically within the Bay Space for Congress or for a state workplace. In tech-heavy California, firms like Google, Apple and Meta, liberal on social points however extra circumspect relating to IP possession, can affect who will get elected. These and different IP-intensive companies might want to put their cash on a candidate whose first-hand familiarity with IP rights may help guarantee their management.