Tillis, Thomas

Thom Tillis is a Republican senator from North Carolina who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, a position that gives him significant influence over federal patent and copyright law, oversight of intellectual property agencies, and the legislative agenda for innovation policy. As chair, he controls which IP issues receive committee attention, schedules hearings, and determines which bills advance. The Intellectual Property Subcommittee is one of Congress's busiest panels, addressing critical issues from patent eligibility to digital piracy.

Tillis brings substantial business and legislative experience to this role. Before entering the Senate in 2015, he worked as an executive at IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers, giving him firsthand knowledge of technology and intellectual property issues. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015, including four years as Speaker, where he focused on tax reform and regulatory modernization. His career trajectory from warehouse clerk to corporate executive to state legislator to U.S. senator reflects his emphasis on economic opportunity and business-friendly policies.

As chair of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee, Tillis has pursued an active legislative agenda. He has held multiple hearings on patent eligibility reform, copyright modernization, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain. He co-sponsored and helped advance the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act, which allows the Department of Justice to bring felony charges against illegal streaming providers, and introduced the bipartisan SMART Copyright Act to strengthen anti-piracy protections. His focus areas include combating intellectual property theft from foreign actors like China, updating copyright law for the digital age, and ensuring that intellectual property protections support American innovation and creativity.

Tillis is characterized as a moderate Republican who has occasionally broken with his party on certain issues. He supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, and initially opposed some Trump administration policies on immigration and border security, though his positions have shifted over time. On the Judiciary Committee more broadly, he has worked on bipartisan legislation addressing sexual abuse, human trafficking, and rape kit backlogs. His legislative profile emphasizes pragmatism and finding common ground, particularly on intellectual property issues where he has cultivated working relationships across party lines.