PRESS RELEASE #00-43
July 17, 2000 |
CONTACT: |
Brigid Quinn
703-305-8341 |
ACTING COMMERCE SECRETARY ROBERT L. MALLETT NAMES MEMBERS TO NEW USPTO
ADVISORY PANELS
Acting Secretary of Commerce Robert L. Mallett today announced 18 inaugural appointments to two new
public advisory committees at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Patent Public Advisory
Committee and the Trademark Public Advisory Committee were created by the 1999 American Inventors
Protection Act to advise the Director of the USPTO on the agency's operations, including its goals,
performance, budget, and user fees,
Each committee has nine voting members who are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of
Commerce. The statute also provides non-voting membership on the committees for the agency's three
recognized unions. Today's appointments include independent inventors, lawyers, corporate executives, small
entrepreneurs, and academicians with significant experience in management, finance, science, technology, labor
relations, and intellectual property issues.
“The members of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees reflect the broad array of USPTO's
stakeholders. This diversity of interests will be an effective tool in helping USPTO nurture and protect the
intellectual property that is the underpinning of America's strong economy," said Acting Secretary Mallett.
The Patent Public Advisory Committee will be chaired by Margaret (Meg) Boulware, a partner with the
Houston, TX firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist, and immediate past President of the American Intellectual Property
Law Association.
The Trademark Public Advisory Committee will be headed by Miles J. Alexander, a Senior Partner in the
Intellectual Property Group and Chairman of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Atlanta, GA.
Q. Todd Dickinson, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office, said "I am very impressed with the breadth and depth of experience of Committee
members, as well as their diversity. They will be a great help as we take on new responsibilities as a
performance-based organization. I am particularly pleased that independent inventors, an important USPTO
constituency, are well represented."
PATENT PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Chair
Margaret Boulware is an intellectual property attorney and partner with the firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist in
Houston, TX. Her experience encompasses both patent prosecution and litigation as well as international
trademark and domestic copyright practice. She is the immediate past president of the American Intellectual
Property Law Association (AIPLA)
Members
James L. Fergason of Redwood City, CA, is an independent inventor and developer of the field effect liquid
crystal display that is used in most digital watches. He is the holder of more than 50 U.S. patents and is an
inductee of the Inventor’s Hall of Fame. Mr. Fergason is also a small business owner, as the founder and CEO
of International Liquid Crystal Company (ILIXCO).
Andy Gibbs of Yuba City, CA, an independent inventor and entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of
PatentCafe.com, an internet portal for inventors, which helps foster small entity intellectual property
development and commercialization. With 5 U.S. patents, he has launched several intellectual property based
businesses, ranging from medical technology to electronics and sports accessories.
Patricia W. Ingraham of Binghamton, NY, is the Director of the Alan K. Campbell Institute for Public Affairs
at Syracuse University and Distinguished University Professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public
Affairs. She is a widely published author on the subject of Public Management and served as a member of the
Vice President’s Committee on Customer Service in 1999. At the Maxwell School, she directed the
Government Performance Project which graded cities and Federal agencies, including the USPTO, on their
performance.
Roger L. May of Dearborn, MI, is the President, CEO and General Counsel of Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
which owns and manages Ford Motor Company’s major automotive intellectual property assets. With overall
responsibility for managing the intellectual property rights for Ford, he also oversees Ford’s Technology
Venture Fund and it’s Patent and Technology Licensing Office.
Gerald J. Mossinghoff of Arlington, VA, is Senior Counsel to the firm of Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier &
Neustadt. A visiting professor of intellectual property at the George Washington University School of Law, Mr.
Mossinghoff formerly served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and
Trademarks.
Ronald E. Myrick of Weston, CT, is the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for the General Electric Company.
He is the President of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) and chairs the IPO Task Force on
Business Method Patents. He is an officer of both the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Section,
and the American Intellectual Property Law Association and is active in a number of other national and
international intellectual property organizations.
Vernon A. Norviel of San Jose, CA, is the Vice President and General Counsel of Affymetrix, a bioinformatics
company which is the developer of “DNA chip” technology -- semiconductors with thousands of DNA probes
for use in pharmaceutical research and diagnostic applications, exemplifying the convergence of computing and
biotechnology.
Katherine E. White of Ann Arbor, MI, is an elected member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents
and an assistant professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, teaching patent law and
enforcement. In 1999, Professor White was the recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholarship Award to the Max
Planck Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law in Munich, Germany.
She also serves as a reserve Major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) and is an instructor at the JAG School
in Charlottesville, VA.
TRADEMARK PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Chair
Miles J. Alexander of Atlanta, GA, is Senior Partner in the Intellectual Property Group and Chairman of
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, a law firm which has over 450 attorneys. He is former counsel to the International
Trademark Association (INTA).
Members
Helen M. Korniewicz of Corte Madera,
CA, manages the Trademark group at the Chevron Corporation Law Department.
In addition to foreign and domestic trademark and copyright issues,
she is responsible for legal services for the e-commerce and
communications activities of several Chevron entities and has
extensive experience in commercial and consumer credit services.
Susan C. Lee of Bethesda, MD, is of counsel to the firm of Pena & Associations, P.C. and specializes in
trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition and internet law. From 1988-1993, she served as a
trademark attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including representing the
USPTO before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
David M. Moyer of Terrence Park, OH, is the Associate General Counsel for Trademarks and Trade Relations
at the Procter and Gamble Company. He is also a past board member of the International Trademark
Association (INTA)
Joseph Nicholson of New York, NY is a partner at Kenyon & Kenyon whose principal practice is trademark
and unfair competition, including large international trademark portfolios. In addition to trademark practice,
licensing and litigation, he has significant background in internet commerce and domain name issues.
Louis T. Pirkey of Austin, TX, is a member of the firm of Fulbright and Jaworski in Austin, TX. He currently
serves as the president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and is Adjunct
Professor of Trademark Law at the University of Texas School of Law.
Griffith B. Price, Jr. of Bethesda, MD is a partner at the firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett &
Dunner, L.L.P. He specializes in trademark and unfair competition matters. He is the former chair of the
USPTO Public Advisory Committee for Trademarks, and the founding chair of the American Intellectual
Property Law Association (AIPLA) Trademark Law Practice Group.
John T. Rose, II of White Plains, NY, is Vice President for Human Resources at ESPN.
He previously served as Senior Vice President for Player Relations and Administration for the NBA, where he
was responsible for brand protection and trademarks worldwide, and organized an industry-wide task force on
intellectual property protection. Prior to that, as Vice President for Law at NBC, he providing legal services on
human resources, labor relations, finance, operations and engineering matters.
David C. Stimson of Rochester, NY, is the Chief Trademark Counsel for the Eastman Kodak Company. He
has worldwide responsibility for Kodak’s trademarks, including clearance, registration, oppositions, litigation
and licensing. He is a past president of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and has chaired
INTA’s Legislation, Finance, and Planning Committees.
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