Pamela Echeverria is the deputy intellectual property advisor for Mercosur. She is based out of the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ms. Echeverria previously worked in the Argentine Senate. In the private sector, she worked as a lawyer with a focus on trademark law and copyright and industrial design issues.
Ms. Echeverria holds a law degree from Buenos Aires University. She also earned specializations in intellectual property and business law from Austral University in Buenos Aires. She has taken IP courses at George Mason University and the University of Geneva. She holds an international certification in ethics and compliance from the University of CEMA in Buenos Aires. She also holds a specialization in tort law from the University of Salamanca in Spain.
On the academic side, Ms. Echeverria has served as a guest lecturer for IP courses at universities across Argentina, including Buenos Aires University, Austral University, Palermo University, Catholic University of Rosario, and Littoral University. She has also taught at Venezuela’s Monteávila University and Brazil’s Mackenzie Presbyterian University.
Ms. Echeverria has also worked on several IP-related publications and has been a speaker at many events hosted by IP stakeholders, both in Argentina and abroad.
About the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA)
Aside from the issuance of patents and registration of trademarks, the USPTO has a statutory mandate to advise the President and all federal agencies, through the Secretary of Commerce, on national and international intellectual IP policy issues, including IP protection in other countries. In addition, the USPTO is authorized by statute to provide guidance, conduct programs and studies, and interact with IP offices worldwide—and with international intergovernmental organizations—on matters involving IP.
The USPTO’s OPIA fulfills this mandate by leading negotiations on behalf of the United States at the World Intellectual Property Organization; advising the Administration on the negotiation and implementation of the IP provisions of international trade agreements; advising the Secretary of Commerce and the Administration on a full range of IP policy matters, including in the areas of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets; conducting empirical research on IP; and providing educational programs on the protection, use, and enforcement of IP.