This program was the second in a series of three virtual roundtables looking at intellectual property (IP) law and policy issues associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It focused on trademarks and NFTs, providing panelists—including technologists, patent owners and practitioners, academics, and industry representatives—with an opportunity to share their knowledge and inform a joint study that is being conducted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the United States Copyright Office.
This study continues the two Offices’ ongoing work to explore emerging technologies and their implications for IP rights, and it responds to a request from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.
Related roundtables were held on January 26, 2023, on patents and NFTs, and on January 31, 2023, on copyright and NFTs (view agenda [PDF]).
A recording and transcript of this event are available. To learn more about the other programs in this series, visit the USPTO website.
Agenda
Agenda subject to change
10:00 – 10:10: Opening remarks
- Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
10:10 – 11:45: Technologist panel
- David A. Callner, M9 Solutions
- Dorothy Haraminac, GreenVets, LLC
- Ram Shanmugam, Heera Digital
- Svetlana Ilnitskaya, Corsearch
- Kary Oberbrunner, Igniting Souls & Blockchain Life
- Elizabeth Grabowski, Unstoppable Domains, Inc.
- Bennett Collen, Endstate
- Morgan Reed, The App Association (ACT)
- Thomas Barrett, EnCirca, Inc.
11:45 – 12:15: Break
12:15 – 1:30: Academic and associations panel
- Brian L. Frye, University of Kentucky College of Law
- Thad Chaloemtiarana, American Bar Association (ABA)
- Rebecca Tushnet, Harvard Law School
- Joshua Fairfield, Washington and Lee University School of Law
- Maria A. Scungio, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
- Victoria Sheckler, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
- Thomas Brooke, International Trademark Association (INTA)
- Susan Stearns, International Trademark Association (INTA)
1:30 – 2:00: Break
2:00 – 4:30: Brand owners and practitioners panel
- Jessica Neer McDonald, Neer McD PLLC / Blockish IP
- Nedeen Nasser, Nasser Law
- Michael A. Geller, DLA Piper
- Moish E. Peltz, Falcon, Rappaport & Berkman, LLP
- Frederic Rocafort, Harris Bricken
- Alfred Steiner, Meister & Steiner, PLLC
- Raj Abhyanker, LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, PC
- Peter K. Jackson, Greenberg Glusker, LLP
- Natalia C. Aranovich, Aranovich Law Firm, PC
- Jacquelyn Knapp, ASICS America Corporation
- Angela S. Kalsi, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, PC
- Joe Guagliardo, Dentons US, LLP
- Kimberly M. Maynard, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz, PC
- Mark Jansen,Fenwick
- Eliana Torres, Nixon Peabody
- Addam Kaufman, Oracle
- Giulia Maienza, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Justin Pierce, Venable LLP
Additional information
For more information about this program, contact Lakeshia Harley in the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs.
For additional information about the joint USPTO-Copyright Office study on IP law and policy issues associated with NFTs, including the Federal Register Notice of November 23, 2022, seeking public comment on a range of IP issues and topics associated with NFTs, visit the USPTO website.
This virtual program is hosted by the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA). The office advises the administration and other federal government departments and agencies on domestic and international IP legal and policy issues. It also provides technical assistance and training on IP-related matters to U.S. stakeholders and both U.S. and foreign government officials.
Accessibility accommodation
If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please submit your request to the contact information listed above.