Dan Vavonese has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations since 2021. In this role, Mr. Vavonese leads the Trademark Law Offices and Trademark Services in all aspects of trademark examination, registration, and maintenance. He has championed numerous initiatives to streamline and improve efficiency in examination, most notably the Trademark pendency reduction plan which resulted in a two month decrease in pendency in 2024. He has served as the Business Architect for Trademarks, where he prioritized and planned for updates to IT systems and business processes. He's also played a key role in the development and implementation of numerous rule and policy changes in Trademark examination.
Mr. Vavonese first joined the USPTO as a Trademark examining attorney in 1995. In 2000, he was promoted to management within the law offices, and in that capacity served as a senior attorney and managing attorney. He joined the executive team as Group Director of the Trademark Law Offices in 2015.
Mr. Vavonese received his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law and his Bachelor of Science in biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo.