Mark Cohen currently serves as the first Technology Consultant of the Asia Society of Northern California and the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, DC. He is also affiliated with the George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law School. He previously served as the first USPTO representative in China and Senior Counsel to the USPTO, leading its 21-member China team.
Cohen has 40 years of private, public sector, in-house, and academic experience in China. Among his many awards, in 2018, he received a Distinguished Civil Service award from President Donald Trump for his service on Chinese IP issues. This is the highest award offered to a civil servant in the federal government. He also received an award from the Secretary of Commerce for his work on promoting the rule of law through intellectual property. Cohen formerly worked at the offices of two law firms in China and was part of Microsoft's in-house legal team in Beijing. He has written and lectured extensively on ethical and legal aspects of cross-border legal practice in China.
He holds a J.D. degree from Columbia University, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, and a B.A. from the State University of New York. He is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. His Chinese language reading and speaking were rated by the State Department in 2004 as fluent to near-fluent (4/4+).
