ABOUT   
Executive Biographies > Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Jon W. Dudas
United States Patent and Trademark Office seal
Jon W. Dudas

print version Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Jon W. Dudas serves as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  He was nominated by President George W. Bush in March 2004 and appointed in July 2004.  Mr. Dudas previously served as acting Under Secretary and Director, and Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Director from 2002 to 2004.

As Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Mr. Dudas advises the President of the United States, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administration about intellectual property matters. As Director of the USPTO, he administers the laws of granting patents and trademarks and the day-to-day management of the $1.8 billion agency and its more than 8,900 employees.

As head of the world's leading intellectual property (IP) office, Mr. Dudas develops and articulates Administration positions on patent, copyright, and trademark issues, both domestic and foreign. He promotes strong IP policy globally, including strategies to thwart the theft of U.S. IP around the world.  And he implements policies and initiatives that provide innovators with quality, timely patent and trademark examinations.

Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Mr. Dudas served six years as Counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, and Staff Director and Deputy General Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee.  He guided enactment of major patent, trademark, and copyright policy, including the 1999 American Inventors Protection Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  He was also instrumental in the passage of the 1996 Trademark Anti-Counterfeiting Consumer Protection Act, a law making it more difficult for seized counterfeit merchandise to re-enter the consumer marketplace.

Before his employment with the House of Representatives, Under Secretary Dudas practiced law in the Chicago law firm of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg.

Mr. Dudas holds a bachelor of science in finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois and a law degree from the University of Chicago, with honors. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar and the Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  He lives in Virginia with his wife Nicole and four children.



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.


Is there a question about what the USPTO can or cannot do that you cannot find an answer for? Send questions about USPTO programs and services to the USPTO Contact Center (UCC). You can suggest USPTO webpages or material you would like featured on this section by E-mail to the webmaster@uspto.gov. While we cannot promise to accommodate all requests, your suggestions will be considered and may lead to other improvements on the website.


. | HOME | SITE INDEX| SEARCH | eBUSINESS | HELP | PRIVACY POLICY