Developments and Initiatives at the USPTO: A Conversation with Ray Chen, USPTO Solicitor and Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law

Raymond Chen was named the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor in December 2008. In this role, he defends the Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO and the agency in court-related procedures relating to intellectual property issues. As an Associate Solicitor, Mr. Chen spent 10 years defending the USPTO\u27s decisions in federal court, briefing and arguing numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His notable Federal Circuit arguments include In re Bilski, In re Nuijten, and In re Comiskey. Mr. Chen has also provided legal advice to the USPTO on new regulations and examination guidelines. The Office of the Solicitor provides legal counsel to the Under Secretary and Director and the Commissioners for Patents and Trademarks on intellectual property matters. The office\u27s primary responsibility is to defend decisions of the Under Secretary and Director, Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and examiners in patent and trademark cases. The office also represents the Under Secretary and Director at depositions of USPTO employees, maintains the Solicitor\u27s Law Library, provides legal advice on proposed regulations and correspondence, and monitors publication of USPTO decisions. The Solicitor\u27s Office, in coordination with the Department of Commerce, also provides representation for the Under Secretary and Director in the interagency deliberations on intellectual property matters. Before joining the USPTO, Mr. Chen served for two years as a Technical Assistant at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to that, he was an associate at Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear in Newport Beach, California, where his practice focused on patent prosecution and litigation. Before entering law school, Mr. Chen was a scientist for Hecker & Harriman in Los Angeles, California, specializing in patent prosecution for electronics and computer-related technologies. He received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles