Ellen McLaren

Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs

Ellen McLaren is the Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), responsible for monitoring congressional activity and facilitating policy proposals related to the USPTO and intellectual property issues.

Over her 20 years of congressional experience, Ms. McLaren has worked as a legislative staffer during the House Judiciary Committee’s consideration of the America Invents Act as well as the Innovation Act and the Protecting American Talent and Entrepreneurship (PATENT) Act. Ms. McLaren has also worked on legislation related to transparency in patent ownership and international copyright enforcement and staffed the bicameral, bipartisan Congressional Trademark Caucus.

Ms. McLaren previously served as a Senior Legislative Advisor for the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Prior to that, Ms. McLaren served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Ted Deutch of Florida, where she advised the Congressman on a wide range of issues, including intellectual property, civil rights, trade, and national security. Ms. McLaren started her career working for Congressman Joseph Crowley of New York and Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida. 

Ms. McLaren has a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and classical studies from the University of Massachusetts.