Executive Biographies > Director of Office of Congressional Relations

Jefferson D. Taylor

Jefferson D. Taylor is the Director of the Office of Congressional Relations for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He and his team serve as the USPTO's liaison to the United States Congress, its committees, and staff members. His organization works with the Congress and other intergovernmental bodies on intellectual property policy issues, integrating efforts with the Legislative Affairs Office of the Department of Commerce.

Mr. Taylor has more than 20 years of experience working as a legislative affairs representative to the Congress. He most recently served as Chief of Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Census Bureau, where he was the key strategist on federal legislative and intergovernmental issues.

Previously, he was the Vice President of Political Affairs for the American General Corporation, a Fortune 200 insurance and financial services company. He has provided federal and state public policy leadership at the American Dietetic Association, the Safe Buildings Alliance, and the National Association of Realtors. He has served on national political campaigns, including Reagan-Bush '84, and gained legal experience with law firms in Virginia. While at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, he worked on the U.S. v IBM case. He also served as Chief of Staff for Representative Tom Davis when Davis was a Fairfax Country Supervisor in 1983-84.

Mr. Taylor received the National Performance Review Awards (Hammer Award) by the Office of Vice President Al Gore and OSHA for his work on the Asbestos Interactive Expert Advisors Project in 1997.

He holds a bachelor's degree in American History from George Mason University, and a law degree from the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (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.