Office of the General Counsel (OGC)

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC), which has approximately 250 employees, consists of five organizations that are concerned with legal review of agency decisions, defense of agency decisions in court and administrative tribunals, internal agency legal advice, and regulation of persons practicing before the USPTO.These five organizations are the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of General Law, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).

The OGC is headed by a General Counsel, who is responsible for overall management of the division and acts as the Under Secretary and Director’s principal legal advisor in assuring the provision of legal advice and representation for the agency. The General Counsel has also been delegated authority to hear appeals from decisions in enrollment and discipline matters, and to determine whether special circumstances exist pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 122 for releasing information concerning patent applications. The General Counsel is James Toupin.