A Question of Credentials

Ted Kalo, deputy staff director at the House Judiciary Committee, said Peterlin understands patent issues because of her stint as an aide to the House speaker. "I'm familiar with the lawsuit, and I think it is insulting to people who have extensive backgrounds in public policy in these areas to claim that that doesn't constitute experience with that area of the law," he said.

Peterlin's boss is Jon W. Dudas, the patent office director. Prior to joining the Bush administration, he served six years as counsel to the House Judiciary subcommittee on courts and intellectual property and as a staff director for the Judiciary Committee.

The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Gregory Aharonian, an inventor and author; David Lentini, a patent lawyer and inventor; David Pressman, a patent lawyer and author; and Steve Morsa, an inventor.

Their lawyer, Stephen Christopher Swift, said the past two administrations have appointed people to political positions with little or no experience in patent and trademark law. "The plaintiffs feel the lack of experience by top leadership is having a negative effect on the performance of the patent office," he said.

Snag for Federal Charity Drive

The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the annual charity drive in the federal workplace, has asked charities to hold off on printing their 2007 brochures because of litigation.

A Tennessee charity, the Stuttering Foundation of America, has filed a lawsuit disputing its removal from the charity drive because of what it regards as an arbitrary rule change. Last year, the OPM said participants must be "public charities" under tax law; the Stuttering Foundation of America has been accorded tax-exempt status as a private operating foundation.

The group said that it sought a wavier for this year from the OPM, which was denied. The foundation has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to force the OPM to let it participate in the charity drive, which begins after Labor Day.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.