Three New Judges Appointed to TTAB

Chief Judge Rogers has announced that two Interlocutory Attorneys at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board have been promoted to the position of Administrative Trademark Judge. In addition, a prominent attorney in private practice will be joining the Board. By my count, this brings the total to 25, including the Chief Judge.

Elizabeth A. Dunn has served the TTAB for many years as its senior Interlocutory Attorney and been instrumental in mentoring other Interlocutory Attorneys. She is a former Trademark Examining Attorney, a recipient of the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for her performance in that position, and honed her focus on quality examination practices as a Senior Attorney supervising Examining Attorneys in one of the Trademark operation’s law offices. Her USPTO experience is varied and includes completion of a work project in the Office of the Solicitor and a Career Development Detail in the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks. Judge Dunn is a cum laude graduate of Boston University and earned her law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.

Christen M. English has served the TTAB as an Interlocutory Attorney for the last six years. Prior to joining the Board she spent eleven years with the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP, first as an Associate and later as Counsel. Her 20-year career as a trademark lawyer includes prior associate positions in the IP practices of Cooley LLP and the firm now known as Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP. During this career, Judge English counseled clients large and small and worked in secondment for the in-house legal department of a Fortune 50 company. The Board has benefitted from her diverse experience with these firms. Judge English is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston College and earned her law degree magna cum laude from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law.

Jonathan Hudis joins the Board from his position as a partner with the Washington, D.C. office of the firm of Quarles & Brady LLP, which he joined in 2015. His 30-year long career specializing in Trademark, Copyright, Trade Secret and Unfair Competition law included more than 20 years as a litigator of IP cases with the firm now known as Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, LLP. Apart from his long and distinguished career in private practice, Judge Hudis has been a frequent public speaker and has served as the editor of the American Bar Association (ABA) publication titled A Legal Strategist’s Guide to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Practice, now in its third edition. From 2014-2017, he served on the USPTO’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) and was a member of the Information Technology and TTAB sub-committees. Apart from his public service on TPAC, Judge Hudis has held many leadership positions in the ABA-IPL and AIPLA. Judge Hudis is a magna cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, and earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2019.