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6 February 2020TrademarksRory O'Neill

USPTO names new trademarks commissioner

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has named former Jack Daniel’s IP chief David Gooder as its new commissioner for trademarks.

He will take up the post on March 2, and have responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the USPTO’s trademark-related activities.

Gooder’s most recent job was as chief trademark counsel for Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman Corporation, which owns more than 30 spirits and wine brands globally, including Canadian Mist and Slane Irish Whiskey.

Gooder previously served as managing director and chief trademark counsel of Jack Daniel’s Properties, which manages the whiskey brand’s IP. He also helped to found the International Federation of Spirits Producers, the distilled spirits industry’s anti-counterfeiting alliance.

He has also chaired the International Trademark Association’s Brand Names Education Foundation (BNEF), which is devoted to promoting education in the field of trademarks, since 1990.

USPTO director Andrei Iancu said he was “delighted to have David Gooder join the leadership team”.

“The US trademark system is the global standard for excellence,” Iancu claimed. “I know that David is going to do a great job maintaining and indeed raising that standard.”

Gooder succeeds Mary Boney Dennison, who stood down recently after five years in the role.

Late last year, WIPR  spoke to Boney Dennison about her term as USPTO trademarks commissioner. During her time at the office, Boney Denison led the USPTO’s efforts to crack down on bad-faith trademark filings and increase security around the trademark filing system.

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