Joel Blank serves as the Section Chief and Regional Product Safety Attaché for the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Beijing Office based at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Mr. Blank works directly with government and industry stakeholders throughout the Asia-Pacific region to improve the safety of consumer products exported to the United States. Through capacity building activities, technical exchanges, and government-to-government engagement, Mr. Blank promotes compliance with U.S. product safety requirements and coordinates closely with product safety regulators throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Blank was the Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, where he served as the principal officer within the Embassy on matters related to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in China. Mr. Blank’s duties included helping to develop, promote, and implement U.S. Government strategies to improve China’s IPR protection and enforcement systems; apprising the Ambassador and other Embassy officials of important IPR developments; and serving as a point-of-contact for U.S. companies seeking to better understand China’s IPR environment.
Prior to his appointment as the IP Attaché, Mr. Blank was an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of the Administrator for Policy and External Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As a member of the Office’s Enforcement Team, Mr. Blank specialized in developing USPTO policy on China-related IP matters, particularly those concerning the enforcement of IPR in China. Prior to joining the USPTO, Mr. Blank was a Senior Attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce (OCCIC) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he advised the International Trade Administration on international trade law issues. While at OCCIC, Mr. Blank specialized in international intellectual property, investment, competition, and China-related legal issues.
Mr. Blank graduated Magna Cum Laude from American University’s Washington College of Law, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Review, and holds a Business Degree from Drake University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with majors in International Business, Accounting, and Management.
