Mary Denison Appointed as New Commissioner for Trademarks

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker appointed Mary Boney Denison to be the new Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO effective January 1, 2015.

Since June 2011, Denison has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations, where she has been responsible for USPTO trademark application, legal examination and registration processes.  Denison is also an active participant in meetings with the world’s largest trademark offices, promoting projects aimed at harmonization of trademark practices and procedures.  While at the USPTO she has initiated several projects to enhance and expand internal and external communications as well as employee career development.

Before joining the USPTO, Denison practiced law in the area of trademark prosecution and litigation.  She served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Trademark Association (INTA) for three years, and also served a three year term on the USPTO’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC). 

The Commissioner for Trademarks oversees all aspects of the USPTO’s trademarks organization, including policy, operations and budget relating to trademark examination, registration and maintenance. Denison will oversee an operation that has reduced the time it takes to receive a trademark to the lowest level since 2008, with examiners reaching an indication of eligibility for registration via a first action in less than 3.5 months. The agency has achieved and maintained this short pendency rate while increasing its operating efficiency, with more than 80 percent of trademark applications in 2014 processed completely electronically.

Denison will succeeded Deborah Cohn, a 31-year veteran of the agency who began her service as Commissioner at the end of 2010 and will retire from the agency at the end of 2014.

Read more here.