Jon Dudas

American lawyer

Jonathan Ward "Jon" Dudas (born July 5, 1968) is the senior vice president, senior associate to the president and secretary of the University of Arizona. He previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) until January 18, 2009. He was nominated to the position by former President George W. Bush in March 2004 and appointed in July 2004. Dudas previously served as acting Under Secretary and Director, and Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Director from 2002 to 2004. He is also a member of the board of directors of Conversant Intellectual Property Management. However, he met the balance of requirements under US law and was appointed on advice and consent of the Senate. He has increased the hiring rate of examiners and increased the amount of monies the PTO retains.

Dudas was a partner at the Washington D. C. office of the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP after leaving the USPTO. In June 2010, Dudas was selected to be the President of FIRST.

On 14 June 2010, Dudas was announced as the new president of FIRST, effective 5 July 2010. On November 26, 2012, Dudas resigned from his position as FIRST president.

On June 3, 2014 the University of Arizona announced Dudas as the senior associate to the president and secretary of the university where he continues to serve as the senior vice president and secretary.

It is our responsibility not only to do everything we can do to perfect the patent system in the United States and we must also actively educate the world that it is fundamentally the best system. I'm a pure capitalist, I believe in markets. I think treating intellectual property and patents, and trademarks and copyrights, as property will bring more efficiency and more innovation. [T]here are great ideas that people have patented. They're not necessarily the best people to manufacture or develop that idea, but they can sell that idea to someone else.