David Kappos

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

David J. Kappos is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In this role, he advises the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administration on intellectual property matters.

Over a 21-year career in intellectual property, Mr. Kappos has seen all sides of the IP system and its impact on innovation globally. Mr. Kappos directs an office that provides incentives to encourage technological advancement and helps entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes protect their investments, promote their goods and services and safeguard against deception in the marketplace. The Office is taking steps to deal with patent application backlogs, long waiting periods for patent review, outdated information technology systems that are regarded as outdated and an application process in need of reform.

Before joining the USPTO, Mr. Kappos led the intellectual property law department at IBM. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the International Intellectual Property Society. He has held various other leadership positions in intellectual property law associations in Asia and the U.S. and has spoken widely in Asia, Europe and the U.S. on intellectual property topics.

Mr. Kappos received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Davis in 1983, and his law degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1990.