USPTO announces new Public Advisory Committee members and leadership
New PAC members will help advise agency and advance core mission of fostering and protecting innovation and entrepreneurship across America
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced new membership to its Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees, composed of private-sector individuals who advise the agency on its patent and trademark operations.
The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director, appoints committee members to serve three-year rotating terms. The committees were created through the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act statute in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999.
Olivia Tsai has been designated as the PPAC Chair and Henry Hadad has been designated as the PPAC Vice Chair, and Amy Hsiao as the TPAC Chair and Doug Masters as the TPAC Vice Chair. Outgoing PAC members who have fulfilled their three-year terms include Suzanne Harrison, Heidi Nebel, and Charles Duan from PPAC, and Adraea Brown, Dana Northcott, and Rodrick Enns from TPAC.
“The Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees are vital in helping our agency advance innovation, with PAC members serving as fierce advocates for the immense value of intellectual property protection in our society and strengthening our service to all stakeholders,” said Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the USPTO Derrick Brent. “We are grateful for the passionate service of our outgoing PAC members— Suzanne, Heidi, Charles, Adraea, Dana, and Rodrick—who have all elevated the work of our PACs to new heights. I am also thrilled to welcome our new members and chairs to their esteemed positions. Congratulations, and thank you for your service to America’s inventors and entrepreneurs.”
“It’s an honor to serve as PPAC Chair,” said newly-appointed PPAC Chair Olivia Tsai. “I look forward to helping advance innovation with this great team.”
“I’m honored to serve as this year’s TPAC Chair,” said newly-appointed TPAC Chair Amy Hsiao. “I look forward to advancing conversations that drive innovation, fuel entrepreneurship, integrate AI meaningfully, and strengthen global competitiveness.”
Maria Anderson, Esq. is an intellectual property attorney at Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, LLP, where she co-founded the firm’s Seattle office. With over 30 years of experience, she has cultivated a practice advising companies at the forefront of technology and innovation, while consistently seeking opportunities to break down barriers for underrepresented groups in the intellectual property space. Ms. Anderson develops patent and trademark portfolios for a diverse group of clients, from individual inventors to Fortune 5 companies. She has guided innovative clients from the earliest rounds of financing through initial public offering and beyond. Ms. Anderson’s practice spans a wide variety of industries, including consumer electronics, medical devices, food and beverage products, Internet technologies, and AI.
Idris McKelvey, Esq. is Vice President and Lead Patent Counsel at The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., where he is the global head of the patent group and responsible for designing and executing the company’s global patent strategy. He oversees a global team of IP attorneys and other professionals across China, Latin America, and the United States, with an emphasis on creating global business processes and policy solutions to enable Estee Lauder's corporate strategy. In leading his team of multinational attorneys and experts, he has developed an informed perspective toward the complexities of the international patent system, including the critical need for policies that ensure proper protection for innovative achievement and fair competition in global trade.
Jennifer Yokoyama, Esq. is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Legal Innovation and Strategy at Cisco Systems, Inc., where she builds and leads international legal teams supporting product development, artificial intelligence and opensource compliance, intellectual property, supply chain procurement, licensing negotiations and litigation. She partners across multiple disciplines, leveraging legal acuity, business aptitude and management experience with broad expertise in all aspects of IP, including prosecution, litigations, licensing and due diligence. She is a mentor and manager for team members across the legal spectrum.
Thad Chaloemtiarana, Esq. is a partner at Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard and Geraldson LLP. He concentrates his practice on litigation and counseling in the areas of trademark and unfair competition law, copyright law and information technology law. His experience includes both federal court litigation and transaction work, including negotiation and licensing of intellectual property rights in a wide variety of areas. He manages, prosecutes, and enforces the worldwide trademark portfolios for several international companies. He has litigated cases involving counterfeiting, trademark and trade dress infringement, false advertising and unfair competition, dilution, unauthorized importation of gray market goods, copyright infringement, breach of contract, and domain name cybersquatting.
Michael Moore, Esq. is the Head of Intellectual Property-Content and Brands at Mattel, Inc. He serves as a senior leader in the global toy industry, overseeing intellectual property matters for Mattel, Inc. He manages a team of attorneys and paralegal professionals across multiple jurisdictions charged with the intellectual property protection of such iconic brands as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fischer-Price, Thomas and Friends, Polly Pocket, SCRABBLE, UNO and many more. Mr. Moore served as past Chair of the International Trademark Association (INTA) PAC Board of Directors and is a current member of the INTA Women’s Leadership Initiative Project Team.
Sanjana Sharma, Esq. is Associate General Counsel, Intellectual Property and Marketing at UL Solutions. She is responsible for leading the intellectual property team, which manages the protection and enforcement of the UL Solutions global intellectual property portfolio, including the renowned UL-in-a-circle certification mark and invention management program, which encompass UL Solutions’ technical and safety science expertise. Ms. Sharma supervises all intellectual property disputes, including global anti-counterfeiting litigation, and supports the UL Solutions marketing and business teams in the implementation of strategies and programs for the protection and branding of UL Solutions’ intellectual property assets.
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