Senator Hatch is expected to chair a new subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

Ugh.

[Background: The Senate has lots of committees through which various types of legislation emanate. That's how Senators specialize. Once legislation has been discussed in a committee and approved, it goes to the floor where it is further debated, amended, and approved/rejected. Though that's not where all the action happens, committees are really important because that's where legislation actually gets written. IP stuff tends to go through the Judiciary or Commerce committee. There are also subcommittees, which specialize even further within committees. Hatch, though he was just removed as head of the Judiciary Committee because Republicans impose committee head term limits, now has control of a new subcommittee in intellectual property. Thus, he will continue to wield a huge amount of influence over new IP laws.]