Silvia Solis is the legal advisor to the intellectual property (IP) attaché’s office based in Lima. She advises U.S. stakeholders on IP matters, and advocates with the countries in her region to promote high standards of IP protection and enforcement.
Ms. Solis was formerly a technical and legal director at Clarke, Modet & Co., a leading multinational IP firm based in Europe with more than 10 subsidiaries in Spanish-speaking countries. Her responsibilities included managing the client portfolio to position the company as a leading IP firm nationally and internationally.
Prior to joining the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Ms. Solis was the patent director at the Peruvian National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), where she developed public policies to promote innovation management, patents, and research and development tools. She also served as the patent technical secretary at INDECOPI’s Inventions Committee, where she created processes to streamline administrative proceedings.
Ms. Solis has participated in meetings of several of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s committees, including those of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). She has also been a member of the governing board of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONCYTEC).
Ms. Solis was part of the Peruvian team that negotiated several commercial agreements, including a trade promotion agreement with the United States, and other free trade agreements with the Pacific Alliance trade bloc, China, Japan, the European Union, and other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies.
Ms. Solis holds a master’s degree in business law from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, and received her law degree from Universidad San Martín de Porres.
About the USPTO and the Office of Policy and International Affairs
Aside from the issuance of patents and registration of trademarks, the USPTO has a statutory mandate to advise the President and all federal agencies, through the Secretary of Commerce, on national and international intellectual property (IP) policy issues, including IP protection in other countries. In addition, the USPTO is authorized by statute to provide guidance, conduct programs and studies, and interact with IP offices worldwide—and with international intergovernmental organizations—on matters involving IP.
The USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs fulfills this mandate by leading negotiations on behalf of the United States at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); advising the Administration on the negotiation and implementation of the IP provisions of international trade agreements; advising the Secretary of Commerce and the Administration on a full range of IP policy matters, including in the areas of patent, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets; conducting empirical research on IP; and providing educational programs on the protection, use, and enforcement of IP.