Barely a year after her appointment as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Administrator for Policy and External Affairs, Arti Rai has resigned her position and will go back to a faculty position at Duke University Law School, according to a USPTO spokesperson. Rai joined the USPTO in October 2009. Paul Salmon will serve as acting administrator for external affairs. He was formerly senior counsel in the Office of the Administrator for External Affairs, said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Lynne Beresford has been re-appointed for another five-year term as Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO, the spokesperson said.
Separately in Geneva, Sybilla Fries, former legal counsel at the European Union Permanent Delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO), is joining Sidley Austin LLP in its International Trade and WTO practice on 1 September.