Oblon Welcomes Chemical Patent Attorney and Former USPTO Administrative Patent Judge Mark Nagumo

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Nov. 1, 2022) – Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, LLP is pleased to announce that Mark Nagumo, a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administrative patent judge (APJ), has joined the firm as of counsel in the firm’s Chemical Patent Practice Group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark to our firm,” said Oblon Managing Partner Philippe Signore. “Mark is an extremely knowledgeable and respected chemical patent attorney whose many years of experience at the USPTO offers tremendous value and benefits to our clients. He is a great addition to our team.”

Focusing his practice on issues of patentability throughout chemical and materials technologies, Mr. Nagumo has extensive experience in chemical research, especially using optical spectroscopies to study biomolecules and other materials, as well as a wide range of other analytical techniques. 

Most recently, Mr. Nagumo spent 17 years as an APJ with the USPTO. His 29 years with the USPTO also included three years as an associate solicitor and seven years as an examiner, including three years as a primary examiner. As an APJ and as an associate solicitor, he handled appeals to the patent board and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, respectively, involving chemical technologies, as well as cases in mechanical and electrical areas. As an examiner, Mr. Nagumo focused on high polymers, metallocene and metathesis polymerization catalysts, and polymers having unusual properties and applications, including nonlinear optical properties, and liquid crystal polymers. Prior to his years with the USPTO, Mr. Nagumo was a research chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, including in the Optical Sciences Division and the Bio/Molecular Engineering Branch of the Chemical Division. 

Mr. Nagumo received his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.