If you are an entrepreneur, you cannot afford to ignore copyrights. Attend this webinar for U.S. entrepreneurs and small businesses. Join experts from the USPTO's Office of Policy and International Affairs to learn the basics of copyright and receive insights into copyright registration and enforcement.

Darren Pogoda is an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where he specializes in copyright law and policy.  His international portfolio includes Japan, Korea, South Asia, Australia and the South Pacific region.  His substantive responsibilities include providing legal counsel to the USPTO, Department of Commerce, Department of State, United States Trade Representative and other executive branch agencies and officials on domestic and international copyright laws, policies and developments; performing legal analysis of and suggesting potential revisions to domestic and international legislation and regulatory frameworks as they relate to copyright protection, enforcement and policy; participating as an expert copyright advisor on interagency bilateral and multilateral free trade agreement and international treaty negotiation teams; providing legal counsel to the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the filing of legal briefs in copyright cases before the federal courts in which the United States is a party or otherwise participating in an amicus role; and participating in technical assistance and capacity building programs for foreign government officials on copyright issues. 

He has over 20 years of experience as an intellectual property attorney.  Prior to joining the USPTO in 2005, he worked in the private sector at a law firm where his work focused primarily on trademark, copyright and internet counseling and litigation.  He also worked at the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), a trade association dedicated to combating trademark counterfeiting.  He received his law degree magna cum laude from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1999 where he served on the Catholic University Law Review.

Mr. Pogoda has been published in the journal Trademark World and authored the first chapter in a legal treatise entitled Trademark Counterfeiting in the United States.  He has also testified before state legislative committees in New York and South Carolina and spoken at numerous legal conferences both in the United States and abroad.