John Cabeca

United States Intellectual Property Attaché for South Asia

John Cabeca is the U.S. Intellectual Property (IP) Attaché for South Asia serving Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Working through the U.S. embassy in Delhi,
India, Mr. Cabeca is the principal officer within the U.S. embassies and consulates throughout South Asia
on matters related to the protection and enforcement of IP rights. His duties include assisting U.S.
companies doing business in the region; advocating for effective IP policies; advising ambassadors and
other U.S. government officials on foreign governments’ IP practices; educating foreign government
officials, students, entrepreneurs, startups and business representatives on the IP landscape; and
conducting public awareness programs to support a strong and vibrant IP system globally.

Prior to assuming his role as an IP Attaché, Mr. Cabeca worked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) for over 30 years. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2008 and served in key
leadership roles across the agency. Most recently, Mr. Cabeca was the Regional Director for the Silicon
Valley USPTO in San Jose, California, where he established and led the office. In serving the western
region of the United States, John worked across the innovation ecosystem at all levels to carry out the
strategic direction on IP policy for the USPTO while relentlessly advocating for the needs of intellectual
property stakeholders. In 2020, he received an honorable commendation from the City of San Jose for
his leadership and service to the diverse and innovative region responsible for more than 37% of
domestic patent applications and 28% of trademark registrations annually at the USPTO.

John also served on special assignment to the Executive Office of the President in the United States
Trade Representative's Office (USTR), where he worked on international intellectual property rights and
enforcement priorities for USTR’s Office for Intellectual Property and the Office for Japan, Korea and
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Affairs.

In 2019, Mr. Cabeca was recognized by the head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for his
leadership role as Chair of the San Francisco Federal Executive Board and for his service to the nearly
50,000 federal employees working in over 450 agencies and offices across northern California. Mr.
Cabeca is a graduate of Widener University with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.
He is also an advisory board member emeritus for the High-Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University
School of Law.