Join us for an engaging conversation with Mark Cohen, the first Senior Tech Fellow at Asia Society Northern California and the Asia Society Policy Institute who will be joined by Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) who will be joining us from Washington, D.C. 

This program is private, off-the-record, complimentary for Asia Society Northern California Board, Advisory Council, Groundbreaker and Innovator Member Event members, and not open to the press. Lunch will be served. Registration and confirmation of registration is required. Event location in San Francisco will be emailed to registered attendees 24 hours before the event.

If you are interested in joining the event, sign up to become a member here. Any inquires can be directed to [email protected].

AGENDA

Date: Monday, October 7 2024 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Pacific  

Board, Advisory Council, Groundbreaker and Innovator Members Event.

• 11:00 a.m.  Event Registration and Networking 
• 11:30 a.m. Event and Q&A Discussion, lunch will be served 
• 12:45 p.m.     Networking 
• 1:00 p.m.       Event Concludes

Location: San Francisco

Your participation will be confirmed via email 1 week before the program begins.

SPEAKER BIOS

Mark Cohen currently serves as the first Senior Tech Fellow at Asia Society Northern California and the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Mark was most recently Director of the Asia Intellectual Property and Technology Project at Berkeley Law (2016-2023). He is also a non-resident fellow at several universities and think tanks, including UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, George Mason University Law School and the National Bureau of Asian Research. Prior to joining  Asia Society, Mark had a distinguished career in the U.S. government. He received the “Meritorious Honor Award”, the highest award in the US civil service, from President Donald Trump for his work on technology transfer issues involving China. He established the first office of the US Patent and Trademark Office in China and thereby launched the USPTO IP Attaché program.  He invited China and Korea to join the “IP-5” consisting of the five largest patent, trademark and design offices in the world, and he established Track II IP dialogues under the US Chamber of Commerce with China as well as India. Mark was an exchange student in Chinese at Nanyang University (Singapore). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Studies from SUNY Albany, a Master’s degree in Chinese Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University. He formerly taught at Fordham University in China and Renmin University in Beijing and served as General Counsel to a mid-sized European pharmaceutical company. He has been named an “IP Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal, a “Diplomat of the Year” by PhRMA, and a “Top 300 Global IP Strategist” by Intellectual Asset Management magazine. He has testified frequently before Congress and published widely on IP, antitrust and technology issues.

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 electricalengineering, 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.