Richard Torczon

Richard Torczon is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the patent litigation practice. Prior to joining the firm, Richard was an Administrative Patent Judge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where, since 1996, he worked on patent interferences and appeals.

During his tenure at the PTAB, he wrote more than a thousand opinions and orders on patent appeals, petitions, motions, and briefs. Richard was an early member of the interference trial section and authored many of the PTAB’s rules.

He has experience in the full spectrum of technologies reviewed by the PTAB, including computer-based inventions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medical devices, and plant and design patents.

Before serving as a judge, Richard was an associate solicitor in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Office of the Solicitor, where he represented the USPTO on patent and trademark matters, particularly before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Additionally, Richard was an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and prior to joining the government, he worked at the Adachi International Patent Law firm in Nagoya, Japan.

Richard has spoken extensively on legal ethics, effective arguments, and board-related topics at programs for numerous organizations, including the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Virginia State Bar, and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association. He was a lecturer at the Patent Academy of the USPTO, starting in 1999.

EDUCATION:

• J.D., University of Texas School of Law
• M.S., Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University
• B.A., Computer Science, Rice University

ADMISSIONS:

• Bar of the District of Columbia
• State Bar of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• U.S. Supreme Court