John M. Whealan is the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He has held this position since January 2001.
As the Solicitor, Mr. Whealan leads an office of 25 people who represent the USPTO in federal court intellectual property (IP) litigation, provide legal and policy advice to the USPTO on IP matters, and prosecute patent practitioners who have violated the disciplinary rules on behalf of the Director of Enrollment and Discipline. Mr. Whealan has worked in the Solicitor's Office since 1996, previously holding the positions of Acting Deputy Solicitor and Associate Solicitor.
Mr. Whealan has personally argued approximately 20 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has written or edited approximately 150 such briefs. His staff is typically involved in more than 50 such appeals annually. In addition, Mr. Whealan and his staff have recently increased their work with the Department of Justice in filing amicus briefs at the Supreme Court, as well as other regional Circuit Courts. The Solicitor's Office has participated in Supreme Court cases dealing with all varieties of intellectual property, including patents, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, and copyright. Mr. Whealan's office also participates in district court cases throughout the United States, although cases are primarily in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the USPTO is a party.
Mr. Whealan and his office provide legal and policy advice to senior USPTO officials and their staffs. This ranges from implementing legislation and drafting guidelines, to patent and trademark examination in view of recent court decisions.
Before joining the USPTO, Mr. Whealan worked as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). At the ITC, Mr. Whealan litigated several Section 337 investigations involving intellectual property matters.
Mr. Whealan has clerked both at the appellate and trial court levels, serving as law clerk to Judge Randall R. Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and Judge James T. Turner of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Before working for the government, Mr. Whealan worked in private practice for Fish & Neave in New York.
Mr. Whealan received a juris doctor from Harvard Law School, and holds a graduate degree from Drexel University and an undergraduate degree from Villanova University in electrical engineering. Mr. Whealan is an adjunct professor and has taught at law schools including, Franklin Pierce, George Mason, and Chicago-Kent.
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Since 1790, the basic role of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has remained the same: to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries (Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution). Today, the USPTO is a federal agency in the Department of Commerce, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
Through the issuance of patents, the USPTO encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide. Through the registration of trademarks, the agency assists businesses in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace. By disseminating both patent and trademark information, the USPTO promotes an understanding of intellectual property protection and facilitates the development and sharing of new technologies worldwide.
SOURCE: WWW.USPTO.GOV |