Next USPTO Director: Philip Johnson?

There's a rumor going around that Philip Johnson, Chief IP Counsel for Johnson & Johnson, has the inside track to be the next Director of the USPTO (hat tip: Hal Wegner).

From an IP lawyer's point of view, Johnson looks to be a good pick.  He stands to follow in the footsteps of previous Director Kappos, although Johnson will likely bring a different set of sensibilities, coming as he does out of pharma rather than high tech.

However, rumors of Johnson's impending nomination has the folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation all bunched up, because Johnson & Johnson, Johnson's (soon-to-be) former employer, is a member of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, a group that is justifiably skeptical about the recent patent "reform" legislation that was lurking around the halls of Congress for much of this session.