Three New Members Appointed to Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC)

COMMERCE SECRETARY GUTIERREZ NAMES NEW MEMBERS TO TRADEMARK PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
November 18, 2008


Washington, D.C. - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez recently named three new members to the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC). They will serve three-year terms on the committee, which was created by the 1999 American Inventors Protection Act to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the management of trademark operations, respectively, including goals, performance, budget and user fees. The committee has nine voting members who are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Commerce.

Makan Delrahim is a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and is a member of the Litigation and Government Relations groups (Washington, D.C.). Mr. Delrahim’s law firm focuses on antitrust, public policy, intellectual property and international trade. He previously served as a member of the U.S. Attorney General’s Task Force on Intellectual Property. Mr. Delrahim is a frequent commentator and author on competition law and intellectual property issues. He previously served as staff director and chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee working as legal and policy advisor for then-Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT). Mr. Delrahim is experienced in class action litigation and patent law reform, copyright legislation as well as the USA Patriot Act.

Mary Boney Denison is a founding partner of Manelli Denison & Selter PLLC in Washington, D.C. Her practice focuses on trademark prosecution and litigation. Ms. Denison was selected as a "Washington DC Super Lawyer 2007," placing her in the top five percent of Washington, D.C. area lawyers. Her law firm advises clients on strategic international intellectual property decisions; trade secret and trademark litigation (common law and registered marks); trademark cancellation and opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She has been a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) for many years and has served on its board of directors. She currently serves as Chair of the USPTO subcommittee for INTA.

Timothy J. Lockhart is Partner in Charge, Intellectual Property Group, Willcox & Savage P.C. in Norfolk, VA. He supervises a group of lawyers and staff personnel in counseling clients on copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks, including registration, enforcement, licensing, and litigation. Mr. Lockhart is a member, Board of Directors, Hampton Roads Technology Council, and a member, Bulletin Committee, International Trademark Association. He teaches Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses on intellectual property law. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar and retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve with the rank of Captain.

.