Executive Biographies > Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

John J. Doll

John J. Doll is the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. In this role he advises the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administration about intellectual property matters. As Deputy Director of the USPTO, he administers the laws of granting patents and trademarks, and the day-to-day management of the $1.8 billion agency and its more than 9,500 employees.

As a leader in intellectual property (IP) policy, Mr. Doll helps develop and articulate Administration positions on all patent, copyright, and trademark issues, both domestic and foreign. He also promotes strong IP policy globally, including strategies to thwart the theft of U.S. IP around the world. As an agency leader, Mr. Doll implements policies and initiatives that provide innovators with quality and timely patent and trademark examinations. He also provides strategic leadership to employees to help them achieve organizational excellence.

Most recently, Mr. Doll was the Commissioner for Patents, responsible for all aspects of the patent granting process for the United States, more than 7,000 employees, and an annual budget of more than $1.3 billion.

Previously, Mr. Doll served as Deputy Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning, and on a detail assignment as Special Assistant to Jon Dudas, Director of the USPTO. Before his detail, Mr. Doll was the Director of Group 1600 that examines organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

Mr. Doll joined the Patent and Trademark Office in 1974 as a Patent Examiner and was promoted to Primary Examiner in 1979, reviewing patent applications encompassing pharmaceuticals, herbicides, pesticides, and dyestuffs. As a Supervisory Patent Examiner in Groups 1100 and 1800, he was responsible for applications drawn from a variety of arts, including inorganic chemistry, hydrometallurgy, zeolite catalysts, buckministerfullerenes, proteins, and peptides. In 1992, he was promoted to Deputy Director of Group 1100 and 2900, which examined chemical, chemical engineering, and design patent applications. In 1995, he became the Director of Group 1800, which examined biotechnology patent applications. He was then one of the Directors of the Chemical Matrix that transitioned into Technology Center 1600.

As a Director, Mr. Doll led the development and implementation of the 35 United States Code (USC) 112, paragraph 1, Enablement Examiner Training Materials. He was a key member of the team that developed and implemented the 35 USC 101, Utility Guidelines, and the 35 USC 112, paragraph 1, Written Description Guidelines, as well as the associated Examiner Training Materials. He was also part of the team that led the Patent Corps Business Process Image File Wrapper implementation of image-based electronic patent applications.

Mr. Doll has received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for examination and supervisory accomplishments; a Bronze Medal for his work on the implementation of Patent Application Location and Monitoring (PALM); a Silver Medal for his work on the development of automated examiner office action tools; the Vice Presidential Hammer Award for his work in establishing the Biotechnology Customer Partnership; a Gold Medal for his work on the Image File Wrapper system; and was named a 2007 Service to America Medal Finalist.

Mr. Doll received a bachelor of science from Bowling Green State University in chemistry and physics, and a master of science from The Pennsylvania State University in physical chemistry.

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.