Two New Judges Appointed to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Chief Judge Rogers has announced that two new Administrative Trademark Judges have been appointed to serve on the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. They will commence their duties on February 3, 2020. By my count, this brings the total number of judges to 27, including Chief Judge  Rogers and Deputy Chief Judge Mark Thurmon.

Melanye K. Johnson comes to the Board from her post as Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She was in that position for the last 10 years and was the lead attorney for trademark matters. In that position, Judge Johnson was responsible for domestic and foreign trademark applications and registrations for the National Institutes of Health and other HHS operating and staff divisions. Prior to entering public service, Judge Johnson was a Senior Counsel at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company for six years. In that position, she served in the company’s 20-person trademark and copyright practice group. She was responsible for prosecuting applications to register marks, for litigation matters, for matters pending before the TTAB, and for licensing and settling disputes. Judge Johnson was one of two principal architects of the company’s Brand Protection Center created to combat counterfeiting of company products, and collaborated with peer companies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition. Judge Johnson’s career in IP law began over 20 years ago. She has held positions in private practice and completed a Judicial Clerkship at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan and earned her law degree from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Mark Lebow comes to the Board from his position as a partner with the IP firm of Ladas & Parry. He was the founding partner of the New York-based firm’s office in Alexandria, Virginia. Previously, he was a partner in the Alexandria IP law firm of Young & Thompson. Between the two, Judge Lebow spent approximately 20 years managing domestic and international trademark matters for many clients. His practices involved prosecution of applications to register marks, TTAB trial proceedings, infringement litigation and handling of domain name disputes. Before settling into his career as an IP attorney, Judge Lebow defended and prosecuted criminal cases, but switched to civil matters after earning an LL.M. from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, with high honors. His career as a civil attorney included negotiation of technology and licensing agreements and representation of both foreign and domestic parties. Most recently, Judge Lebow was a member of the INTA Trademark Office Practices Committee (US subcommittee). He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and earned his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law.

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2020.