Sterne Kessler Director Tracy-Gene G. Durkin Appointed Vice Chair of USPTO’s Patent Public Advisory Committee

Washington, D.C. (September 9, 2025) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is proud to announce that Director Tracy-Gene G. Durkin has been appointed Vice Chair of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC).

The Public Advisory Committees (PAC) are composed of private-sector individuals who advise the agency on its patent and trademark operations. The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the USPTO, appoints committee members to serve three-year rotating terms.

Durkin recently completed a three-year term as a member, including a one-year term as vice chair, of the PPAC (2020-2022). She has more than 35 years of experience obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights with a well-earned reputation for excellence in design patent law. Durkin is sought out by leading consumer product companies and by colleagues around the world for her deep understanding of utility and design patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

“I am honored to rejoin the Patent Public Advisory Committee,” said Durkin. “I look forward to working with my fellow members to provide meaningful guidance to the USPTO on its policies and operations, and to help ensure the continued strength and efficiency of our patent system.”

The committee was created through the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act statute in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999. For more information on the USPTO PPAC, including how to participate in upcoming public PAC meetings, visit the PPAC information page.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, enhancement, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, technical specialists, specialized trademark paralegals, and law clerks include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law, tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.