Robert L. Stoll - USPTO Commissioner for Patents

Robert L. Stoll was sworn in as Commissioner for Patents on October 5, 2009. Prior to that, Mr. Stoll was Dean of Training and Education. In that capacity he directed efforts to train foreign officials and the public on all aspects of intellectual property. Before his appointment as Dean in 2007, Mr. Stoll served as director of the Office of Enforcement for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for five years beginning in 2002.

In 1995, Mr. Stoll became the Administrator of the Office of Legislative and International Affairs for USPTO. In this capacity, he led development and analysis of legislation concerning intellectual property, as well as analysis of international issues related to intellectual property.

Mr. Stoll was appointed Executive Assistant to the USPTO Director in 1994 and was responsible for providing technical and policy assistance to the Director on a broad range of national and international intellectual property issues. He also helped develop and plan USPTO strategic goals, objectives, and priorities, and served as a liaison with patent and trademark bar groups and academic and scientific communities.

Mr. Stoll joined the Federal Service in 1979 as a Chemical Engineering Researcher in metallurgy at the United States Bureau of Mines, where he worked until 1982. He joined the USPTO in 1982 as a Patent Examiner, reviewing patents for metal containing complexes and compounds. In 1990, he became a Supervisory Patent Examiner, managing the examination of classified chemical applications, radioactive bio-treating compositions, and liquid crystals.

Mr. Stoll holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland. While working at USPTO, he earned a juris doctor from Catholic University and became a member of the Maryland Bar.

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