Sharon Barner
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO
Sharon Barner was officially sworn-in on October 13 as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
As Deputy Secretary and Deputy Director, Mrs. Barner serves as a leader in intellectual property (IP) policy, she helps develop and articulate Administration positions on all patent, trademark and copyright issues, both domestic and foreign. She also promotes strong IP policy globally, including strategies to thwart the theft of U.S. IP around the world. As an agency leader, she implements policies and initiatives to enhance the agency’s delivery of timely and high-quality patent and trademark examinations.
Prior to joining the USPTO, Barner was a top attorney in the field of intellectual property with 27 years of legal experience. She was a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago and chaired the firm's Intellectual Property Department. Her experience spans clients in fields including those involved in patent, trademark and copyright disputes and also technical science fields such as genetically engineered foods, computers and satellites.
Over the past ten years, Barner has been featured as a top intellectual property lawyer in The National Law Journal, Black Enterprise Magazine, Diversity and the Bar and IP Law & Business and was recognized in the Illinois Super Lawyers for her intellectual property litigation work. Barner also has written and lectured on several intellectual property topics including business counseling, patent litigation and IP risk management.
Barner received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Syracuse University and a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1982.
About the USPTO
Since 1790, the basic role of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has remained the same: to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries (Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution). Today, the USPTO is a federal agency in the Department of Commerce, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. Through the issuance of patents, the USPTO encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide. Through the registration of trademarks, the agency assists businesses in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace. By disseminating both patent and trademark information, the USPTO promotes an understanding of intellectual property protection and facilitates the development and sharing of new technologies worldwide.
