| The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) welcomes three new members to the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC): Dinisa Hardley Folmar, Jennifer L. Kovalcik, and Susan M. Natland. Ms. Folmar is the Head of Intellectual Property at The Hershey Company. Ms. Kovalcik serves as Vice President Technology & Intellectual Property Counsel for Community Health Systems. Ms. Natland is a Partner and Co-Chair of the Trademark and Brand Protection Group at Knobbe Martens. In addition to the new members, the USPTO is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Roth Escobar, the former Vice Chair, will serve as TPAC Chair, and Christopher Kelly will serve as TPAC Vice Chair. There are four other returning TPAC members: Anne Gilson LaLonde, Donna A. Tobin, Stephanie Bald, and Kelly Walton. Finally, the USPTO thanks Bill Barber, former TPAC Chair, and Ilene Tannen and Brian Winterfeldt, former TPAC members, who have completed their terms, for their years of outstanding service to the committee, the USPTO, and the public. TPAC public sessions for 2020 have been scheduled for February 7, April 17, July 24, and October 30. You can view the TPAC member biographies on the TPAC members page of the USPTO website. The Public Advisory Committees for the USPTO were created through the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act statute in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO on the management of patent and trademark operations. The Public Advisory Committees review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the patent and trademark operations, respectively, and advise the director on these matters. Each committee has nine voting members who are appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Secretary of Commerce. Each member serves a three-year term. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment