F. Scott Kieff, a professor in the George Washington University Law School, was nominated last week by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Mr. Kieff, who is an expert on trade and intellectual property law, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before assuming the post.
The U.S. International Trade Commission is a federal agency that investigates the effect of imports on domestic industries. The agency has the power to block imports that infringe U.S. patents and trademarks, and it analyzes trade data and policies for the president and Congress.
“Scott is a leading figure in thinking about the relationship between intellectual property rights, trade and entrepreneurship,” said Paul Schiff Berman, dean of the Law School. “My colleagues and I are proud to hear of this wonderful news about Scott. It’s hard to imagine anyone more perfect for the commission. He continually distinguishes himself as a collaborative teacher and scholar who warmly engages a wide diversity of views."
Before attending law school at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kieff studied molecular biology and microeconomics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After receiving his law degree, he worked as a trial lawyer and patent lawyer for more than six years at Pennie & Edmonds in New York City and Jenner & Block in Chicago. He also served as a law clerk to U.S. Circuit Judge Giles S. Rich.
He served on the Federal Circuit’s Appellate Mediation Panel for two years before being appointed by Secretary of Commerce Carlos Guiterrez to serve a three-year term on the Patent Public Advisory Committee of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which was created by Congress to advise the government on the policies, performance and budget of the patent operation.
Mr. Kieff joined GW in the summer of 2009 after serving as a professor at Washington University’s Saint Louis School of Law with a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine’s Department of Neurological Surgery.
"This nomination is not only a great opportunity for Professor Kieff, but also a great moment in the life of the law school,” said Christopher A. Bracey, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Law School. “If confirmed, Professor Kieff would take a leave of absence, remaining part of the larger GW community, and upon his return, would bring to the classroom the real-world and timely work he performed on the U.S. International Trade Commission."
Intellectual property and technology law is one of the key academic focus areas at the Law School.
“The George Washington University Law School has well over a century of excellence in trade and intellectual property, including famous graduates who wrote patents for the Wright Brothers' airplane and Enrico Fermi's nuclear reactor,” said Mr. Berman.
In addition to his role at GW, Mr. Kieff is the Ray and Louis Knowles Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, where he directs the Project on Commercializing Innovation, which studies the law, economics and politics of innovation including entrepreneurship, corporate governance, finance, economic development, intellectual property, antitrust and bankruptcy. He also serves on Hoover’s Property Rights Task Force.
Mr. Kieff is also a faculty member of the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center at Germany’s Max Planck Institute and was inducted as a member in the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in March 2012.
“I am proud to see the excellent work of our faculty members recognized by members of our political community,” said Mr. Bracey.