Executive Biographies > Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy

John J. Love

John J. Love was named Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in January 2007.  He is responsible for changes in patent practice, rules of practice and procedures, examining priorities, and classification of technological arts.  He leads the operations of the Patent Legal Administration, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Legal Administration, and the Office of Petitions.

Previously, Mr. Love worked on establishing patent examination policy for business methods and computer-related inventions.  He has given numerous presentations on this topic at national and international meetings. 

Mr. Love joined the USPTO in 1969.  After achieving primary examiner status in 1975, he was selected as a Supervisory Patent Examiner in 1978.   He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1988 as Director for Group 330, which included medical treatment and diagnostics subject matter patent applications.   He joined Technology Center 2700 in 2000 to manage patent application examination in the growing area of business methods. 

Mr. Love was a participant in the 1984-85 Department of Commerce Science and Technology Fellowship Program, during which he was detailed to the International Trade Administration.  He has served as chairman of the Supervisory Patent Examiners and Classifiers Organization (SPECO), and he is a member of Pi Tau Sigma, the honorary mechanical engineering fraternity.

Mr. Love received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Detroit.  He earned a juris doctor degree from Georgetown University, and is a member of the Virginia State Bar. 

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.