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It’s been five years since Mary Boney Denison took up the mantle of trademark commissioner at the US Patent and Trademark Office. As she prepares to step down, WIPR’s Sarah Morgan spoke to her about lessons learned and goals achieved.
During her five-year tenure at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), trademark commissioner Mary Boney Denison has witnessed an “unprecedented wave” of what she calls “bad behaviour”, such as forged attorneys’ names, unauthorised assignments, fake and doctored specimens, and false claims of use.
“We issued the first US trademark registration almost 150 years ago and during that time trusting our users to do the right thing has generally worked well,” says Boney Denison.
But times have changed, forcing the USPTO to implement measures to protect its users, including auditing post-registration claims of use and issuing guidance on misleading third-party solicitations.
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USPTO, Mary Boney Denison, trademark registration, claims of use, solicitations, third party, filing growth, stakeholders, Congress, counterfeit goods
