 | Professional Experience Richard J. Apley is the Chief Patent Officer of the Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies practice group. A registered patent agent, Mr. Apley is responsible for training on patent practice and procedures and supervising patent practitioners and staff. He handles patent prosecution matters, particularly applications participating in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) “Interview Before First Action” program. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Apley served as Director of the USPTO Office of Independent Inventor Programs. Before his appointment to Director, Mr. Apley served as a Supervisory Patent Examiner of art units in mechanical and chemical engineering, computer controlled teaching apparatus and simulators, and biomedical and surgical devices and methods during his more than three decades at the USPTO. Additionally, Mr. Apley represented the USPTO in the media, on the Board of Directors of the National Inventor Hall of Fame, on the Consumer Protection Initiatives Committee, and as part of the United States Attorney General’s Council on White Collar Crime. Additionally, Mr. Apley instructed new patent examiners in their initial 3-week training and was responsible for rewriting, designing, and updating various training manuals used by the examiners and their instructors.
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