Nathan Kelley
- Washington, D.C.
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Informed by his decades of experience before the Federal Circuit, Nate provides clients with a strategic approach to managing high-profile patent appeals.
Nathan K. Kelley assists clients with patent appeals, inter partes reviews at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and related U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) work. A veteran appellate advocate, Nate has argued more than 50 Federal Circuit appeals, including several en banc cases arising from both district court litigation and USPTO proceedings. His unique perspective is built on a career at the highest levels of the USPTO, where he oversaw the defense of hundreds of decisions of the PTAB and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Nate handles IP matters involving a full range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, and computer networking. Beyond litigation, Nate's experience includes helping develop USPTO rules and guidelines, shaping federal policy on various IP matters, and internally counseling the USPTO on its implementation of trial proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA).
As its solicitor and deputy general counsel for IP law, Nate managed all IP litigation for the USPTO and participated in many of the most significant patent and trademark cases in recent years. Nate also acted as the agency's chief administrative patent judge, leading the PTAB during a critical period as it was coming up to speed with its jurisdiction over inter partes reviews under the AIA.
Areas of focus
Education & Credentials
Education
- George Mason, Antonin Scalia Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 1999
- George Mason University, B.S., 1993
Bar and Court Admissions
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District of Columbia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Related Employment
- United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA
Solicitor and Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law, 2013-2015; 2016-2018
Chief Administrative Patent Judge (acting), 2015-2016
Deputy Solicitor and Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property, 2012-2013
Associate Solicitor, 2006-2012
Patent Examiner, 1993-1999 - George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C., Professional Lecturer in Law, 2012-2013
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, D.C., Technical Assistant, 2000-2005
- Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, Washington, D.C., Associate, 1999-2000
- Defense Information Systems Agency, Reston, VA, 1990-1991
Clerkships
- Hon. Randall R. Rader, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Professional Recognition
Ranked by Chambers USA as “America’s Leading Lawyer” for Intellectual Property: Appellate, 2023-2026
Listed in Intellectual Asset Management Patent 1000, 2022-2025
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Litigation - Patent Law, 2023-2026
Named "Intellectual Property Trailblazer" by The National Law Journal (NLJ), 2020
Recognized as an IP Star by Managing IP, 2021-2024
Impact
Professional Leadership
- Member of The Advisory Council for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 2013-2018
Insights
