Bernard Knight Jr., former general counsel at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, played a significant role in the creation of the America Invents Act—the 2011 law that has been touted as the most significant change to the U.S. patent system in more than 60 years.

But while the AIA has transformed patent law in major ways, Congress is already writing legislation that could further reform the system.

All this is happening at a time when the PTO is without a director. The agency has not yet replaced former director David Kappos, who stepped down in February to join Cravath, Swaine & Moore. And the PTO’s acting director, Teresa Stanek Rea, announced in September that she, too, plans to resign. The White House is believed to be reviewing candidates, but so far a new PTO director has not been named.

Against that background of an IP agency in flux, we talked to Knight, who is currently a partner at McDermott Will & Emery, about several related issues. An edited version of that interview follows.

What do you think of the proposed legislation pending in Congress that is designed to thwart so-called patent trolls?

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Tags: Bernard Knight, David Kappos, Teresa Stanek Rea, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office