3 Questions For A Patent Podcast Pro (Part I)

Eli Mazour's Clause 8 podcast fills an important role in advancing the dialogue between IP professionals in our challenging and fast-paced times.

Recently, I was fortunate to have been interviewed for the Clause 8 podcast by Eli Mazour, who had reached out to me based on some prior columns that he had read. While prior to our podcast I personally had never met Eli, his initiative in starting a podcast series around interviews with prominent IP professionals is something I admired. And I was honored to be invited for an interview, especially considering that Eli’s prior interviews were conducted with titans such as former Federal Circuit Chief Judges Michel and Rader, as well as industry legends Doug Henderson and David Kappos. I still have a long way to go to match their contributions to our profession, but I also hope that fellow and aspiring IP lawyers can gain some benefit from hearing my personal story. So please give the podcast a listen, and I heartily recommend you subscribe and listen to Clause 8’s other podcasts as well.

In addition to conducting the podcast in a professional manner with thoughtful questions, Eli was generous enough to agree to a written interview with me for the column’s “3 Questions For…” series. Some background about Eli, who is a patent attorney at Harrity & Harrity, LLP. He specializes in helping technology companies build valuable, high-quality patent portfolios in an efficient manner. Eli prides himself on developing and implementing innovative strategies for reaching favorable results at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  He also has extensive experience in evaluating existing patent portfolios, identifying strategic areas for patenting, and creating processes for harvesting disclosures of patentable inventions. Considering his sophisticated practice, it is admirable what he has accomplished with Clause 8 in such a short period of time. The quality of his interviews is apparent, and in my opinion, Clause 8 fills an important role in advancing the dialogue between IP professionals in our challenging and fast-paced times.

I very much welcome the opportunity to share Eli’s insights about his Clause 8 project with this audience. As usual, I have added some brief commentary to Eli’s answers below, but have otherwise presented his answers as he provided them.

1) What drove you to start the Clause 8 interview series?

EM:I have always been a big fan of great long form interviews, everything from Howard Stern to Peter Robison’s Uncommon Knowledge back when it was on public television.  More recently, I started enjoying podcasts by venture capitalists who interview other people in their field. Even though I had no plans to get into venture capital myself, I found those shows extremely interesting as a way to get to know different personalities and to learn about the field.

At the same time, I had the repeat experience of going to IP conferences where you would hear one panelist say something interesting but not really get a chance to talk at length.  I was also curious about their personal stories and how they ended up in their current roles. One time, I was able to invite former USPTO Director David Kappos to talk to an IP committee that I’m on but it left me wanting to share what he said with those who weren’t able to attend the committee meeting.  That experience prompted me to start Clause 8 as a way to talk to interesting people in the intellectual property community and to be able to share those conversations with anyone who is interested in the IP field.

Finally, at least since I’ve been practicing as a patent attorney, too much of the public conversation about patents seems to be driven by those who don’t know much about patents but know that patents are “bad.”  I also started Clause 8 in hopes of playing a small part in counteracting that narrative. I picked the title Clause 8 specifically as a reminder that IP rights were mentioned in the Constitution because the founders understood the importance of encouraging innovation.  Patents aren’t the recent invention of “patent trolls” as a get-rich-quick-scheme.

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GK: Anyone who has practiced IP law knows that it is a field populated by interesting characters of all stripes and backgrounds. And while the legal media might mention an IP personality in connection with some event or accomplishment, I have long wished for more personal profiles of prominent practitioners to become available. Eli’s work with Clause 8 fills that gap by presenting long-form interviews in easily accessible podcast form, which allows both him and the listeners to actually get to know his interviewees in a deeper way.

Eli’s deft handling of his interviewees makes listening to his interviews a productive and entertaining experience. There is always much to learn from hearing from people who have achieved a measure of success in a professional field, and Clause 8’s podcasts allow listeners to relate the experiences of the interviewees to their own experiences in the legal industry. Eli’s positive approach, and the ease of working with him as an interviewee, in my view bodes very well for Clause 8’s future.

We will continue with Eli’s answers to questions 2 and 3 next week. In the meantime, please check out my Clause 8 interview at https://www.clause8.tv or by download from your favorite podcast source. Both Eli and myself are keen to hear any feedback you might have as well.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.


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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 gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.