WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The head of intellectual property practice at law firm Arent Fox LLP’s New York office has been named vice chair of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Advisory Committee.
Marylee Jenkins was appointed to a two-year term by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, effective Dec. 1.
“It’s been an honor for me to serve on the committee and to try to make a difference in improving functionality and efficiency of our nation’s patent office, whose role in protecting American innovation is so vital,” said Jenkins, who joined the PPAC in January.
“I look forward to continuing to serve the PPAC in my new post as vice chair and to seeing that it remains the high-performing, cooperative vehicle it has been for communicating new ideas to the PTO.”
The nine-member committee, created by Congress in 1999, reviews PTO policies, performance and budget with respect to patents. It also issues an annual report to the President, U.S. Senate and House judiciary committees, and the Secretary of Commerce.
Jenkins currently chairs the PPAC’s international subcommittee and also sits on its IT subcommittee.
Her practice at Arent Fox focuses on counseling and litigation related to computer and Internet matters, including e-commerce; licensing and co-branding; advertising; domain name disputes; portfolio management; patent applications and enforcement; and bankruptcy, among others.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at patents@legalnewsline.com.