Peter C. Pappas

Peter C. Pappas was appointed to the position of Chief Communications Officer for the United States Patent and Trademark Office in September 2009.

 As Chief Communications Officer, Mr. Pappas oversees all aspects of the agency’s public affairs and communication outreach activities. He advises senior management on a wide range of policy issues and serves as a liaison to other government agencies and intellectual property community stakeholders.

 Prior to his appointment at the USPTO, Mr. Pappas served an Executive Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs at Pappas Telecasting Companies, which was at the time the nation’s largest privately held commercial television stations group with 27 affiliates in 15 markets nationwide. In that role, he managed the legal and regulatory affairs of the Company and served as its primary spokesperson.

Previously, Mr. Pappas held three high-ranking positions in the Clinton Administration. He served as an Assistant Counsel to the President in the Office of White House Counsel, and subsequently Director of Communications for Economic Affairs at the State Department during the first term of the Clinton presidency. He was then tapped to become Associate Chief of the Federal Communication Commission’s International Bureau, overseeing international telecommunications policy in several areas, and being principally in charge of the Bureau’s Congressional and media relations.

 A member of the Bar in the District of Columbia and New York, Mr. Pappas received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He also holds a B.A. in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford in England. Mr. Pappas was a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University and received his Master’s degree in Political Science from Brown University.