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Mandy Kraft or Press Inbox (571) 272-8400
mandy.kraft@uspto.gov or press@uspto.gov
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is pleased to announce the appointment of new members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) and the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC).
The new PPAC committee leaders include Makan Delrahim, who will serve as the PPAC Chair, and Tracy-Gene G. Durkin, who will serve as the PPAC Vice Chair. Mr. Delrahim is a partner at Latham and Watkins LLP, serving as a member of the litigation and trial practice group. Ms. Durkin is a Director and Practice Leader of the Mechanical and Design Group at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein, and Fox PLLC. Additionally, John Duffy has been appointed as a member of the PPAC. Professor Duffy teaches torts, administrative law, patent law, and international intellectual property law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he is the Director of the Center of Intellectual Property.
The new TPAC committee includes David Gooder and Courtney Laginess. Mr. Gooder is a former Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO, and prior to that was founding Managing Director and Chief Trademark Counsel at Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. Mr. Laginess is the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Worldpay, and prior to that was Assistant General Counsel–Intellectual Property at FIS.
The Public Advisory Committees (PAC) are composed of private-sector individuals who advise the agency on its patent and trademark operations. For additional information on the USPTO’s PACs, including how to participate in upcoming public PAC meetings, please visit the PPAC information page as well as the TPAC information page.
The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the USPTO, appoints committee members to serve three-year rotating terms. The committees were created through the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act statute in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999.
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