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Bismarck Myrick
Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity
Bismarck Myrick became the Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity (formerly: the Office Civil Rights) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in July 2008. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Myrick was the Deputy Director of that Office. Prior to joining the USPTO, Mr. Myrick worked as an appellate review attorney in Office of Federal Operations at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1999-2003. Prior to working at the EEOC, Mr. Myrick worked as a trial attorney for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. Mr. Myrick received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Florida State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Mr. Myrick is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and State of Maryland.
About the USPTO
Since 1790, the basic role of the United States intellectual property system 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 I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution). Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (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.
