John F. Duffy appointed General Counsel and Acting Solicitor of the USPTO
ALEXANDRIA, VA — America’s Innovation Agency, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), today welcomed John F. Duffy as its new General Counsel and Acting Solicitor.
In his new roles, Duffy will serve as the principal legal advisor and counsel to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. He will also supervise the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and its three offices: the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of General Law, and the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).
“John brings a remarkable range and breadth of experience to these high responsibilities: an incredible grounding in physics from Harvard, a tour at world-famous Bell Labs, and years in the academy as one of the country’s foremost and most thoughtful scholars, and also as a legal practitioner, serving with distinction previously at the Justice Department, and remarkable clerkships with Judge Stephen Williams and Justice Antonin Scalia,” said Director John A. Squires. “His exceptional experience and legal expertise will be invaluable to further elevate American ingenuity, here and on the world stage. I am honored that John has chosen to serve again, and with the urgency of now, I cannot wait to work together for America’s innovators.”
Duffy is the John S. Shannon Distinguished Professor of Law and the Class of 1966 Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law (now on leave from the university). He focuses his teaching and scholarship on administrative law, patent law, and the law and economics of regulation.
Duffy previously clerked for Judge Stephen Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He served in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice and worked in private practice prior to entering academics. He has published articles in numerous prominent law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, the University of Chicago Law Review, the University of Virginia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, NYU Law Review, Texas Law Review, Emory Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, and the Supreme Court Review. He is a co-author with Professor Robert Merges of a leading casebook on patent law and also serves as a senior fellow at the Administrative Conference of the United States.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Ryan T. Holte, a former patent law professor and patent holder, administered the oath of office this morning to effectuate Duffy's appointment at the historic Dolley Madison House. The Dolley Madison House is known as the former home of Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison. It was NASA’s first headquarters and is currently part of the federal court complex on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.
Read Director Squires’ remarks from the swearing-in ceremony. Welcome, John!
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