McLean, Virginia (March 5, 2008) – PCT Law Group, PLLC announced today that the Hon. Chris S. Israel, former U.S. Coordinator for Intellectual Property Enforcement in the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Hon. Stephen M. Pinkos, former Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, have joined the firm as Senior Policy Advisors.

Mr. Israel, 37, was named one of the 50 “Most Influential People in IP” by MIP magazine and he was appointed as the first U.S. Coordinator for International IP Enforcement by President Bush in July 2005.  As Coordinator, Mr. Israel was responsible for directing and leveraging the resources within the federal government to protect U.S. IP at home and abroad. His previous experience includes serving as Deputy Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretaries Donald L. Evans and Carlos Gutierrez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy at the Commerce Department, and Deputy Director for International Policy at Time Warner.  He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University and is a frequent international speaker on IP and innovation issues.

Prior to joining PCT Law, Mr. Pinkos, 37, was Deputy Director of the USPTO from 2004 - 2007, where he managed 8,000 employees and a $1.7 billion budget. As a leading IP policy-maker with the Bush Administration, he was responsible for developing and articulating policy positions on all foreign and domestic patent, trademark and copyright issues.  Prior to his USPTO appointment, Mr. Pinkos served in the U.S. Congress for nine years in various senior staff positions, including six years on the staff of the House Committee on the Judiciary under Chairmen Hyde and Sensenbrenner.  As Committee Staff Director and Deputy General Counsel from 2001-2004, Mr. Pinkos managed an ambitious legislative and oversight agenda that included the Congressional consideration of significant IP reforms such as the Patent and Trademark Modernization Act of 2003 (passed the House in 2004), Copyright Arbitration Reform (enacted in 2004), and the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act (Trademark legislation enacted in 2002).  Mr. Pinkos received his B.A. from Miami University and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.