It
is
great
being
back
after
a
summer
hiatus
for
this
column.
I
hope
everyone
in
this
readership
had
a
pleasant
summer
and
is
as
invigorated
as
I
am
to
end
this
time
off
on
a
positive
note
—
both
personally
and
professionally.
To
get
us
started,
I
am
very
pleased
to
bring
to
this
audience
a
follow-on
audience
with
noted
IP
personality
—
and
one
of
my
favorite
people
in
this
industry
—
Eli
Mazour.
Long-time
readers
may
recall
my
2018
interview
with
Eli,
where
we
discussed
the
start
of
his
Clause
8
podcast
series,
which
he
launched
alongside
his
patent
prosecution
and
counseling
practice
at
a
boutique
IP
firm.
Let’s
get
reintroduced
to
Eli
and
visit
with
him
about
the
evolution
of
both
his
practice
and
the
Clause
8
podcast
series.
As
you
might
suspect
from
his
podcasting
exploits,
Eli
loves
talking
to
people
about
patents.
That
love
of
talking
about
patents
—
along
with
his
belief
in
the
importance
of
America’s
patent
system
—
led
him
to
start
the
Clause
8
podcast.
The
Clause
8
podcast
features
interviews
with
the
most
interesting
members
of
the
IP
community,
including
former
judges,
academics,
and
practitioners.
As
you
will
see
below,
Clause
8
has
expanded
into
Eli’s
new
offering,
the
Voice
of
IP
newsletter
and
podcast
series.
In
his
practice,
Eli
relies
on
his
intricate
knowledge
of
how
the
patent
system
operates
to
help
clients
build
valuable
patent
portfolios
that
advance
their
business
goals
as
a
patent
attorney
and
of
counsel
at
Foley
&
Lardner.
Clients
seek
Eli
out
particularly
for
his
experience
in
obtaining
license-ready,
litigation-grade
standard
essential
patents
(SEPs),
preparing
corresponding
claim
charts,
and
avoiding
and
overcoming
patent
eligibility
issues
for
software
and
fintech-related
inventions.
He
is
also
experienced
in
devising
and
implementing
best
practices
for
growing
global
patent
portfolios,
and
developing
corporate
policies
and
positions
related
to
IP.
His
goal
is
to
be
the
first
call
for
clients
facing
new
patent-related
issues.
Eli
also
helps
clients
evaluate
existing
patent
portfolios
and
has
experience
with
licensing
negotiations,
clearances,
opinions,
and
enforcement.
Lastly,
Eli
is
frequently
sought
out
for
his
insights
on
how
to
navigate
and
impact
patent
policy,
including
legislative
developments
and
changes
at
the
USPTO.
I
very
much
welcome
the
opportunity
to
share
Eli’s
insights
once
again
with
this
audience.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
to
Eli’s
answer
to
my
first
question
below,
but
have
otherwise
presented
his
answer
as
he
provided
it.
Gaston
Kroub:
How
has
the
Clause
8
interview
series
evolved
into
your
new
effort
Voice
of
IP?
Eli
Mazour:
I
started
Clause
8
primarily
to
share
entertaining
conversations
with
the
most
interesting
people
in
the
IP
field
(like
you!).
Also,
I
felt
that
too
much
of
the
public
conversation
about
patents
was
driven
by
the
“patent
troll”
narrative.
I
hoped
to
play
a
small
part
in
counteracting
that.
I
picked
the
title
Clause
8
specifically
as
a
reminder
that
IP
rights
were
rooted
in
the
Constitution
because
the
founders
appreciated
their
importance.
Because
of
the
podcast,
I
got
to
know
people
from
across
the
patent
spectrum.
This
led
me,
somewhat
to
my
surprise,
to
become
much
more
empathetic
to
all
their
views,
including
those
of
inventors
who
think
the
patent
system
is
completely
broken,
corporate
IP
leaders
worried
about
disincentivizing
innovation
in
America,
big
tech
lobbyists
dismayed
by
ever-evolving
patent
monetization
strategies,
and
policy
makers
influenced
very
differently
by
those
divergent
views.
So,
my
focus
shifted
to
using
Clause
8
to
provide
a
platform
for
all
those
voices
so
that
everyone
in
the
IP
field
could
gain
a
good
faith
appreciation
of
those
different
viewpoints.
I
also
love
telling
stories
of
resilience
and
innovation
related
to
the
field.
Over
time,
I
was
heartened
to
learn
how
many
listeners
—
especially
in-house
counsel
focused
on
devising
long-term
patent
strategies
and
impacting
IP
policy
—
rely
on
Clause
8
for
practical
advice
and
insights
about
the
forces
shaping
patent
policy
developments.
Those
guests
and
listeners
often
shared
news,
perspectives,
and
questions
with
me
that
I
didn’t
see
covered
elsewhere.
Occasionally,
that
would
spur
me
to
do
a
podcast
episode
based
on
a
related
topic.
More
often,
those
topics
didn’t
really
fit
into,
warrant,
or
were
too
fleeting
for
a
podcast
episode.
Personally,
I
was
also
bored
by
IP
news
coverage
that
consisted
of
daily
updates
about
lateral
moves
and
painfully
incremental
developments
in
ongoing
litigation
matters.
I
heard
similar
complaints
from
others
in
the
field
about
the
barrage
of
irrelevant
news.
That
led
me
to
the
idea
of
starting
the
Voice
of
IP
newsletter
to
share
the
interesting
IP-related
information
I
came
across
and
stay
in
touch
with
listeners
between
seasons
of
Clause
8.
My
goal
is
to
try
to
zoom
out
and
focus
on
IP
news
that
matters,
that
provides
practical
insights
about
the
current
and
future
state
of
IP
for
patent
practitioners,
innovators,
and
policy
makers.
GK:
Anyone
who
has
practiced
IP
law
knows
that
it
is
a
field
that
is
constantly
progressing.
To
some
extent,
the
traditional
legal
news
media
and
IP-specific
efforts
try
their
best
to
provide
comprehensive
views
into
important
developments.
At
the
same
time,
there
is
always
room
for
intelligent
coverage
of
the
space,
making
Eli’s
expansion
of
the
Clause
8
podcast
experience
into
the
Voice
of
IP
newsletter
a
welcome
one.
We
can
expect
that
Eli’s
learned
perspective,
coupled
with
his
deft
determinations
of
what
is
interesting
or
warrants
further
discussion
in
the
IP
space,
will
make
Voice
of
IP
a
must-read
for
practitioners
across
the
entire
spectrum
of
patent
practice.
We
will
continue
with
Eli’s
answers
to
questions
2
and
3
next
week.
In
the
meantime,
please
take
the
opportunity
to
sign
up
for
Eli’s
Voice
of
IP
newsletter
and
podcasts.
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of
Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected] or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.