Anthony Caputa

Tony received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin in Bacteriology and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in Veterinary Microbiology in the development of vaccines against Lyme disease. Tony then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Lederle Laboratories, a subsidiary of American Cyanamid (now Pfizer) in the development of vaccines for whopping cough in children before joining the USPTO in 1992.

Tony began his career with the Patent Office examining in Technology Center 1600, which covers Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry, where he examined patent applications related to bacterial and viral antigens, and vaccines and diagnostic kits containing these antigens. In his time in TC1600, Tony assumed the roles of both supervisory patent examiner and a biotechnology practice specialist and oversaw examination practices in TC 1600.

From 2010-2015 he served as the Executive Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Patents and then the Commissioner to Patents. In this role he worked closely across the Patent’s leadership to implement the policies and priorities for the USPTO. Recently as Director of the Office of Patent Quality Assurance (OPQA) he was responsible for the assessment and measurement of patent quality at the USPTO. As the Director, heserved as an Executive Lead in the development and implementation of two Enhanced Patent Quality Initiatives, the Master Review Form and the Topic Submission for Case Studies Pilot program

Currently, he is serving as the Senior Quality Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation (OIPC)and leading the effort to develop new quality assurance programs related to international cooperation within OIPC. These programs focus on providing the best work products and services at every stage of the international patent process, improving the customer experience, establishing appropriate quality metrics, and engaging the public in partnership to increase the certainty and value of global intellectual property rights.