00:00Chairman, Ms. Squires, thank you for being here.
00:04Actually, I wanted to go back.
00:05I think you answered the question from Senator Durbin exactly right within the lane that you would be operating for the USPTO.
00:13Would you just describe that again about how most cases move through the courts and up to the Supreme Court?
00:20Thank you for the question, Senator, and thank you also for the opportunity to meet and the kind introduction.
00:24Yes, the patent system is a little bit unique insofar as other agencies.
00:30It's ex parte.
00:31It's not adversarial.
00:33So there are appeals that move taken from an executive branch decision that move up through the court system in a very prescribed fashion,
00:42and that is the Federal Circuit, Court of Appeals, then up to the Supreme Court.
00:45My point is I felt like your answer was characterized as a non-answer.
00:51It was a concise answer in the context of the role that you're being considered for.
01:00Patent eligibility, para prevail, what do you think about them?
01:05I thank you for the question.
01:07I am very gratified to see work done in being in this area.
01:12Some of the issues across those bills are costing American competitiveness, particularly on the area of patent eligibility.
01:19I would note, especially from the IP subcommittee hearing last Wednesday, the Chinese national patent system has a more expansive subject matter area than the United States does.
01:32And that is troubling to me.
01:33It should be troubling to all Americans.
01:36Is it troubling to all Americans that you can file for a patent in China anonymously?
01:41I viewed that session, sir, and I was shocked by that, and also equally shocked by the written into the laws, the requirement that the disclosure be made to the Chinese embassies.
01:57This is before a foreign violence.
01:58What else do we have if we don't move forward with some of these bills that are in proved certainty that the intellectual property just flows elsewhere,
02:06and we lose the advantage that we have today, and that gap is closing with China?
02:12I think that is a big risk, as I mentioned in my opening remarks.
02:17We want people to come to the American patent factory first and have a compelling reason to come here.
02:23So we're in danger of losing competitiveness, especially in subject matter areas that other countries have no problem with.
02:29I believe there are tools in our system to avoid these issues, and I believe the bills also take care of those issues.
02:36So thank you for those efforts.
02:38Well, thank you.
02:40Mr. Woodward, just a real quick question for you.
02:45I intend to support your confirmation, but I did have a question.
02:49I know you defended some of the January 6th defendants.
02:55After your defense, did you actively advocate, go on stage, have interviews, beyond your role as a defense attorney in the space that they were being prosecuted?
03:10Have you had any public statements or any presence that would go beyond just doing the defense work but being an advocate for them after the fact?
03:19Senator, thank you for the question.
03:20No, sir.
03:21I make my arguments in court.
03:24That's the right answer.
03:25Mr. Gazer, I believe in this concept of political physics.
03:33For every partisan action, there's an equal and opposite reaction.
03:37Under previous administrations, the OLC at times shifted from issuing authoritative determinations on legality of executive branch actions
03:46to instead essentially advocating for the legality of these actions.
03:52Neither administration, neither the administration nor the OLC were well served by this shift.
03:58In other words, can I count on you to returning to the intended purpose and mission of the OLC?
04:04Thank you so much, Senator Tillis.
04:07Yes, sir, you can.
04:08I expected that based on your concise answer to Senator Durbin's question.
04:14Look, we've got to be the adults in the room and stop having this back and forth.
04:19We're no better than the people we're criticizing when they do the same thing.
04:23Let me see.
04:25Mr. Woodward, no, Mr. Woodward, I think I'm good with that answer.
04:31I look forward to supporting you all's nomination.
04:34Mr. Squires, I'm especially looking forward to getting with you and having your commitment to come and work,
04:40not in hearings, I hate hearings, they have to be done,
04:44but participating in work groups and letting us continue to do the good work of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee.
04:51And I also want to publicly thank the members of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee
04:55because we have great attendance there, which is one of the reasons why we get so much good work done.
04:59I want you to be a partner that goes out of the formal setting and into the get-the-work-done setting.
05:05I got your commitment on that?
05:07Thank you, Senator.
05:08Yes, you have my commitment to do my level best, and if I'm done the honor of being confirmed,
05:13as I said in my opening statement, we need to get to work.
05:16I look forward to supporting all your confirmations.
