USPTO Announces New Advisory Committee Members

The USPTO has appointed three new members to each of the Patent (PPAC) and Trademark (TPAC) Public Advisory Committees to advise the Director of the USPTO on the management of patent and trademark operations. The new members will participate in their first meeting of the TPAC today, and the PPAC on April 18 at USPTO's headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

The new members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee are:

Carl E. Gulbrandsen is managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) in Madison, Wis. He also serves as director of the Wisconsin Technology Counsel and as public policy chair of the Association of University Technology Managers. Mr. Gulbrandsen has been in private practice and has taught patent law at the University of Wisconsin.

M. Andrea Ryan is vice president and assistant general counsel for patents at Wyeth Research in Cambridge, Mass. Ms. Ryan has over 30 years experience in intellectual property law. She has served in leadership positions in corporate research and patent departments and law firms, and is past president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association.

Dean L. Kamen, an inventor and physicist, is president of DEKA Research and Development Corporation and chairman of Segway LLC. His inventions include a portable dialysis machine, the iBOT 3000 Mobility System and the Segway Human Transporter. Mr. Dean is the recipient of the 2000 National Medal of Technology, the 2002 Lemelson-MIT Prize for Invention and Innovation and the New Freedom Award in 2003.

The new members of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee are:

Joshua W. Rosenberg of Saratoga, Calif., is director of trademark licensing at the Hewlett-Packard Company. Mr. Rosenberg has held several positions at Hewlett-Packard since 1981 including new business development manager and intellectual property portfolio manager.

Kathleen Cooney-Porter is a partner at Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt in Alexandria, Va. Ms. Conney-Porter has over 15 years of experience securing, enforcing and protecting clients' trademark rights. She is active in several associations including the DC Bar, Woman's Bar Association and International Trademark Assn.

B. Parker Livingston has nearly 40 years experience in all phases of trademark law. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Livingston is active in several professional groups including the International Trademark Association and is currently vice chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association.

The contact information for most of the committee members is available on the Internet.