Mr. Brian Hanlon serves as the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Patents in the Patents business unit. In this role, he is an authority on patent laws, rules, and examining practice and procedure, and provides administrative oversight and direction for the activities of the Office of Petitions, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of Patent Quality Assurance, Central Reexamination Unit, and Manual of Patent Examining Procedure staff.
Before becoming Acting Deputy Commissioner, he served as an Assistant Commissioner for Patents, and prior held the position of Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA). He has also served as the Director of Strategic Planning and Management Council for Under Secretary and Director Jon W. Dudas, and served as a Special Advisor and acting Chief of Staff for Under Secretary and Director, David J. Kappos. Mr. Hanlon began his career as a patent examiner at the USPTO in former Group 3300, now TC 3700.
Mr. Hanlon has been involved in numerous patent-related rule makings including implementing the Patent Law Treaty and the patent examination related provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). Mr. Hanlon was also a shareholder at the law firm of Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. where his practice focused on patent prosecution and client counseling on issues relating to both procurement and enforcement of utility and design patents.
Mr. Hanlon holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering with Honors from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a JD, Magna Cum Laude from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.