The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexandria,Virginia,after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington,Virginia.
Bruce A. Lehman served from 1993 to 1998 as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Lehman is noted for being the first openly gay man to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Irell &Manella LLP is an American law firm founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell (1912–2000) and Arthur Manella (1917–1997). It has approximately 70 lawyers,and placed 183rd on The American Lawyer's 2021 Am Law 200 ranking. It has two locations in Southern California:Century City and Newport Beach,as well as one in Washington,D.C. Irell specializes in intellectual property litigation and general business litigation.
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property,or USC(IP),is a senior official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the intellectual property matters. In tandem,the Under Secretary is also the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office within the Commerce Department,filling dual roles.
Jonathan Ward "Jon" Dudas is the senior vice president,senior associate to the president and secretary of the University of Arizona. He previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) until January 18,2009. He was nominated to the position by former President George W. Bush in March 2004 and appointed in July 2004. Dudas previously served as acting Under Secretary and Director,and Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Director from 2002 to 2004. He is also a member of the board of directors of Conversant Intellectual Property Management.
Q. Todd Dickinson was an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He was an executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA),and had been mentioned by some sources for possible reappointment to his former post as director of the USPTO by the Barack Obama administration prior to the appointment of David Kappos to that post.
Kathleen McDonald "Kate" O'Malley is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is currently of counsel at Sullivan &Cromwell.
Morgan Chu,is an American intellectual property attorney. In June 2009,Harvard alumni elected Chu to a six-year term as a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.
David "Dave" James Kappos is an attorney and former government official who served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 2009 to 2013. Kappos is currently a partner at New York law firm Cravath,Swaine &Moore.
Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California from 2009 to 2012 and as a California superior court judge from 2002 to 2009.
David Nimmer is an American lawyer,law professor,renowned as an expert in United States copyright law. He received an A.B. with distinction and honors in 1977 from Stanford University and his J.D. in 1980 from Yale Law School,where he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. David Nimmer is of counsel to Irell &Manella LLP in Los Angeles,California. He also serves as a Professor from Practice at University of California,Los Angeles Law School and Distinguished Scholar at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. In 2000,he was elected to the American Law Institute. He has served as a guest professor at the University of Haifa,Yeshiva University,the University of Miami,and Syracuse University.
Raymond T. Chen is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is an administrative law body of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which decides issues of patentability. It was formed on September 16,2012,as one part of the America Invents Act. Prior to its formation,the main judicial body in the USPTO was the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI).
Michelle Kwok Lee,born 1965 in Santa Clara,California,was a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Iancu v. Brunetti,No. 18–302,588 U.S. ___ (2019),is a Supreme Court of the United States case related to the registration of trademarks under the Lanham Act. It decided 6–3 that the provisions of the Lanham Act prohibiting registration of trademarks of "immoral" or "scandalous" matter is unconstitutional by permitting the United States Patent &Trademark Office to engage in viewpoint discrimination,which violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
John William Holcomb is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Peter v. NantKwest Inc.,589 U.S. ___ (2019),was a United States Supreme Court case from the October 2019 term.
Kathi Vidal is an American intellectual property lawyer and former engineer who serves as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
