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

Kathi Vidal serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – America’s Innovation Agency. As the chief executive of the USPTO, she leads one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world, with more than 13,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $4 billion. She is the principal IP advisor to the President and the Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce, and is focused on incentivizing and protecting U.S. innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity, and helping American workers and businesses compete and collaborate, especially in key technology areas and across demographics. As Director of the USPTO, Vidal is working to expand American innovation for and from all, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2 ), alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and the Council members; serving as a Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE); and the Co-Founder, with the Secretary, of the Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) initiative.

Prior to leading the USPTO, Director Vidal held top leadership positions at Winston & Strawn LLP and Fish & Richardson P.C. She has served a wide range of clients, from individual inventors and entrepreneurs, to some of our country’s most well-known and successful companies. Director Vidal holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, has five years of industry experience in manufacturing and design, and has deep technical expertise in a myriad of technologies, from consumer products to artificial intelligence. In her various roles, Director Vidal has received numerous accolades, created innovative initiatives and programs, and been recognized as a trailblazer and thought leader.

Director Vidal’s full bio is available on the USPTO website.