Kathi Vidal, Partner at Winston & Strawn

Today, my (repeat) guest is Kathi Vidal, a Partner at Winston & Strawn and one of the leading patent and intellectual property (IP) litigators and Federal Circuit advocates in the United States. The immediate past Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Kathi is one of the most influential people in AI and IP in the world and is a ChIPs Hall of Fame recipient. Kathi is internationally recognized as one of the most influential people in IP, with notable experience in AI, next-generation semiconductors, and other critical and emerging technologies; international policy; standardized technology and standard essential patent (SEP) policy; pharmaceuticals and life sciences policy; and competition law. In addition to her client work, Kathi also guides clients through complex issues at the intersection of technology, law, and policy, ensuring they maintain a leading edge in critical innovations.

From April 2022 to December 2024, Kathi served as the U.S. Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the USPTO, leading the $4.2B operation with over 14,000 employees located across the 50 states and Puerto Rico—underpinning more than $8T in IP-intensive economic activity annually in the U.S. She was the principal advisor to the President, his administration, and the Secretary of Commerce on IP. During her tenure, she broadened the USPTO’s mission to focus proactively across the U.S. government and internationally on impactful innovation and entrepreneurship policy to accelerate U.S. innovation, bolster U.S competitiveness, and bring innovation to impact to solve community and world problems.