United States Trademark Commissioner Lynne Beresford has announced she will retire on 30 December, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations Deborah Cohn will succeed Beresford and assume her new position as of 31 December.
Beresford served at the USPTO for more than 30 years and as Trademark Commissioner since 2005. She had just been renewed as commissioner for another five-year term. Beresford played key roles in the US joining the Madrid Protocol, negotiating the Singapore Treaty, and the creation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Cohn joined USPTO in 1983 and has been deputy commissioner since 2006. She has played a key role in development of electronic systems for trademarks and the telework programme.
Full press release here.