Clause 8

Kevin Mack, the new president of Via Licensing Alliance, joins Eli for the Clause 8 season finale. Kevin talks about Via's plans to build its next patent pools around "de facto" standards — technology the market adopted on its own, with no standards body behind it — which would push collaborative licensing into territory it has never touched. Mack also takes a hard look at the royalty-free models...

Bruce Lehman, head of USPTO from 1993 to 1998, joins Clause 8 for a wide-ranging conversation about the modern IP system, the internet boom, and why the AI era may require a new copyright response from Congress. Lehman helped shape internet-era copyright policy from the USPTO, including the work that led to the WIPO Copyright Treaties and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). He also played...

When Alice came down in 2014, much of the patent prosecution bar reacted with denial. Most practitioners hoped the USPTO, the Federal Circuit, or Congress would clean things up — and that adding some magic language to claims and specifications would eventually be enough. Eli Mazour and Ngai Zhang, separately, came to a different conclusion: there had to be a new, better way to obtain strong patent...

President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pride themselves on being dealmakers and on making the kind of unconventional deals for America no one else could have gotten done. Gil Hyatt is offering them one that sounds like a no-brainer. However, the question remains whether that dealmaking reputation is enough to overcome thirty years of inertia from prior administrations focused on opp...

Is anything in the patent world ever really free? That question anchors a new Clause 8 conversation between host Eli Mazour and Professor Kristen Osenga , a University of Richmond law professor and one of the leading academic voices on standard essential patents. At the center of the discussion is the rise of so-called “royalty-free” technology standards. Osenga’s point is straightforward: “free”...

The story of how John Squires became USPTO Director doesn’t start inside the Beltway. It starts on the Appalachian Trail, with Doug Pittman camping under shooting stars the night after Trump won the election. Pittman — a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and self-described “foxhole buddy” and “wingman” of Squires — drove up from Georgia to sit down with Eli for this episode., fresh off a meeting with...

Eli Mazour is joined by Juristat’s Francesca Cruz and patent attorney Clint Mehall to look at what the examination data actually says about recent USPTO changes. The conversation moves past anecdotes to analyze how new examiner performance appraisal plan (PAP), new Section 101 guidance, and the end of the AFCP program are affecting day-to-day patent prosecution. The guests discuss a new framework...

Artificial intelligence has been raising foundational questions for patent law long before generative tools entered the mainstream. In this episode of Clause 8 , host Eli Mazour speaks with Wen Xie , U.S. Patent Attorney and Founder of Lux Lumen Intellectual Property , about how legal thinking around AI, inventorship, and patent eligibility has evolved—and where it appears to be heading. The conve...

In the latest episode of Clause 8, recorded in December 2025, Eli Mazour sits down with Peter-Anthony Pappas , Director of Intellectual Property Policy for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary under Senator Thom Tillis , at a moment when the USPTO’s direction is in significant alignment with what Senator Tillis and Senator Chris Coons have been working toward since reviving the Senate IP Sub...

How do you protect the IP of a rapidly growing technology company in the dynamic AI sector without slowing engineers or missing what really matters? That question is at the center of this episode of Clause 8, where host Eli Mazour sat down with Subroto Bose , Head of IP at Astera Labs , at the VIA Licensing Alliance’s 2025 Bridge Summit. Prior to Astera, Subroto held IP leadership roles at global...

While many people talk about mentorship, HP’s Chief IP Counsel Ceyda Maisami and Tradespace’s VP of IP Operations & Client Success Marcia Chang actually live it. In this episode, Ceyda and Marcia join Clause 8 host Eli Mazour for a wide-ranging conversation about mentorship, what it really takes to run IP teams inside large technology companies, and what the rise of AI means for both in-house and...

At the 2025 Via Licensing Alliance Bridge Summit in San Francisco, Brian Dorini , Senior Director at Dolby, and Tyrome Brown , Dolby’s Chief Patent Counsel, offered a clear-eyed look at the state of patent pools and the shifting realities of the global SEP ecosystem. Far from being outdated structures, both emphasized that pools remain essential tools for enabling collaboration, reducing friction,...

Recent changes at USPTO are increasingly shaping the context in which Congress considers potential patent legislation. In the latest episode of Clause 8 , the focus turns to how the USPTO’s evolving approach to post-grant proceedings at the PTAB is shaping the broader patent policy debate—and influencing what Congress may (or may not) do next. The episode features David Jones , Executive Director...

Corey Salsberg, one of the leading voices on intellectual property policy in the United States, joins Clause 8 to discuss surviving the anti-pharma activism of the last administration, why he’s encouraged by the current administration’s approach to patent policy, and even the scientific possibility of “resurrecting the woolly mammoth.” As Global Head of IP at Novartis, Salsberg has a unique vantag...

At the Via Licensing Alliance’s Bridge Summit 2025 in San Francisco, Clause 8 host Eli Mazour sat down with two leaders who ushered in the modern age of patent pools: Garrard Beeney , founder of Sullivan & Cromwell’s IP practice, and John Sideris , Principal Licensing Counsel at Philips. Their conversation traces the evolution of patent pools — from the early days of MPEG LA and antitrust uncertai...

In this episode of Clause 8 , Deputy Commissioner for Patents Jerry Lorengo joins host Eli Mazour to share valuable, practical insights for patent professionals navigating the USPTO’s new Performance Appraisal Plan (PAP) . Jerry discusses what’s changed in the latest update — including the revised streamlined review process , new production expectations , and updated interview time policy — and of...

When I first heard about Lisa Ascolese , known as “The Inventress,” I knew I wanted to bring her story to Clause 8. Lisa’s path into inventing began after her family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where her creativity and curiosity found room to grow. She started inventing at a young age, driven by the simple desire to solve everyday problems. That curiosity evolved into a lifelong passion for turni...

At the Via LA 2025 Bridge Summit in San Francisco, Clause 8 host Eli Mazour sat down with two leaders who play pivotal roles in connecting innovators and licensees around the world: * Jane Bu , Chief Licensing Officer at Via LA, the world’s largest patent pool. (You can listen to Eli’s previous conversation with Via’s President, Heath Hoglund, here ). * Rob Tobias , CEO & President of HDMI LA, the...

Tech transfer has long been a critical but often overlooked part of the intellectual property system. For decades, the Bayh-Dole Act has guided how federally funded research moves from university labs into the marketplace. The system has generated hundreds of thousands of inventions and startups — and, as Laura Peter notes, led to nearly $2 trillion in economic growth through tech transfer. While...

In To Invent Is Divine: Creativity and Ownership , Jim makes the case that creativity and ownership are inseparable—and that weakening intellectual property rights threatens the flourishing that invention enables. He draws connections between faith, history, and policy to explore why protecting intellectual property is about more than law or economics. Highlights from our conversation: * From Gene...

From Coke Morgan Stewart’s decisive actions at the USPTO, to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s unexpected “patent tax” trial balloon, to the ongoing Federal Circuit drama — it felt impossible to figure out where to start telling the story. The only way to make sense of it all was to bring in three of our favorite journalists who cover these issues every day: * Eileen McDermott , Editor-in-Chief...

PTO 'whistleblower' Julie Burke and patent prosecution guru Clint Mehall join Eli on the season finale of Clause 8 to break down what’s happening at the USPTO—and what’s still left to be done. On this episode, they discuss: *Insights from the Reddit r/patentexaminer thread *Previous and current plans to reduce the record patent application backlog *Should the USPTO withdraw patent eligibility exam...

What is the actual value of patents? Inventors and companies invest millions in obtaining patents, believing they are valuable assets. Yet, their true worth is rarely quantified. For this episode of Clause 8, Eli Mazour brings together three of the most insightful experts in the patent valuation space: Michal Malkovich, Vice President at Charles River Associates; Alejandra Loaiza Delgado, Co-Found...

Host Eli Mazour talks with Heath Hoglund, President of Via LA, to break down the role of patent pools in today’s innovation landscape. Tune in as they discuss: *The balance between licensors and licensees—and how Via LA acts as a bridge between them *Merger of Via Licensing and MPEG LA in 2003 to form Via LA *How Dolby’s strong brand helped it succeed with technology licensing *The challenges of s...

Kathy Duda is the President of The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) , which is the union representing USPTO patent examiners. On this episode, she discusses why she remains hopeful amidst current uncertainty around new return to office policies. In the episode, she also discusses: *Positive collaboration with Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart Getting first involved with POPA after i...