Andrei Iancu

Andrei Iancu is senior adviser of the Renewing American Innovation Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he was under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a position to which he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. In this role, Mr. Iancu led an agency with approximately 13,000 employees and an annual budget of over $3.5 billion. He was also the principal adviser in the administration on domestic and international intellectual property (IP) policy matters. Currently, Mr. Iancu is a partner at Irell & Manella LLP, where he worked prior to government service. In this role, he represents clients in a wide variety of industries on IP matters. Mr. Iancu has also taught patent law at the UCLA School of Law. Earlier in his career, he was an engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company. Mr. Iancu is a sought-after speaker and has had hundreds of engagements on IP and innovation policy issues. One of his speeches received the 2020 Cicero Speechwriting Award in two separate categories: public policy and technology. Mr. Iancu has also written on a variety of IP issues. The Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society recognized one of his articles as "the greatest contribution to the fields of patents, trademarks and copyrights" in the publication year. Recently, and among many other recognitions, he received the IP Champion Award from the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation for “his extraordinary leadership in advocating for the value of intellectual property to stimulate the progress of innovation.”