Commerce Secretary Disbands PPAC and TPAC

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

IPWatchdog has learned that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has decided to end all current appointments to both the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) and Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC), effective immediately. Secretary Lutnick is expected to appoint new members to both public advisory committees (PAC) and move forward with public meetings for both committees in May 2025, as originally scheduled.

If you have been following along with appointments and hirings made by President Donald Trump in his first few months of his second stint in the White House, it will probably be apparent that Secretary Lutnick is likely appoint new PPAC and TPAC members who are ideologically aligned with the President on IP policy. Compared to Trump’s first term as President, when Trump advanced several early nominees on the advice of others, some wound up having their own political agendas that were ultimately unaligned with the Administration’s goals. Trump’s second term as President has begun with a focus on bringing into government those with views aligned with the President, and those who are willing to work as a part of a team having a similar vision for the future.

Public Committees Advising USPTO Director Will See New Membership

Both the PPAC and TPAC were established in 1999 when Congress passed the American Inventors Protection Act, with appointments and other governing provisions codified at 35 U.S.C. § 5. Section 5 provides that each public advisory committee will have nine members that “serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Commerce.” When vacancies are created on either committee, those vacancies are to be filled within 90 days with new members appointed to serve the remainder of the predecessor’s term, which could mean that Secretary Lutnick will appoint new PPAC and TPAC members to one- or two-year terms to maintain staggered terms.

The statutory duties of both PACs involve reviewing the policies, goals, performance, budget and user fees of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with PPAC reviewing the USPTO’s patent operations and TPAC reviewing trademark operations. Along with advising the USPTO Director on these matters, both PACs prepare annual reports on their respective side of USPTO operations to the Secretary of Commerce, the President, and the Committees on the Judiciary in either house of Congress.

Section 5 also prescribes several qualifications that prospective members of either PAC must possess as a basis for their appointment to those committees. Members must be U.S. citizens having substantial background and achievement in finance, management, labor relations, science, technology and office automation. Both PACs are required to include members who represent entities applying for patent or trademark rights, including representation from both larger and smaller entities. In particular, the PPAC is required to have at least 25% of its membership representing small entity patent applicants, at least one of those members being an independent inventor.

USPTO Executive Turnover and Reassignment

Secretary Lutnick’s decision to rework the composition of both PACs follow some executive staff turnover and reassignment at the USPTO in the first few months of the second Trump Administration. Coke Stewart was hired as Deputy Director and is serving as Acting Director while we await the confirmation of Director nominee John Squires. In early February, IPWatchdog reported that Vaishali Udupa, then the USPTO’s Commissioner of Patents, had resigned effective immediately to take advantage of the deferred resignation program offered to federal workers by the Trump Administration. Former Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, Will Covey, is now Acting Deputy Director. Former PTAB Vice-Chief Judge Janet Gongola is now Acting Director of Communications. Former Solicitor Farheena Rasheed is now an Acting PTAB Vice Chief Judge. Valencia Martin Wallace is now Acting Commissioner for Patents and Dan Vavonese is now Acting Commissioner for Trademarks. Chris Shipp has returned to the USPTO as Chief of Staff. And over the last several weeks Frederick Steckler, formerly the USPTO’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), has stopped performing those duties. The circumstances of Steckler’s departure are unknown to IPWatchdog as of this time. Currently, the USPTO’s website states that Anne Mendez, the USPTO’s Deputy CAO since 2020, is now serving as Acting CAO.