The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has removed a senior legal adviser from a high-profile case after she tweeted contentious remarks about the right of AIDS activists to challenge a patent-term extension sought by Gilead Sciences (GILD) for an HIV medicine.
A spokesman for the federal agency told us that Mary Till, a 14-year employee who reviews extension requests, is “no longer working on the matter.”
The decision comes three days after the PrEP4All Collaboration filed a petition accusing Till of making inappropriate remarks and displaying favoritism toward Gilead. The activists also asked the USPTO to reassign the adviser while their request to reject the Gilead patent extension remained active.
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May one observe that employees of the Executive branch should realize that Twitter can be bad for your career – with one conspicuous exception that comes to mind.