Session 7

Gwen Blackwell is a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) in the Chemical and Material Engineering Technology Center 1700. Ms. Blackwell also delivers lectures to new examiners at the Patent Training Academy on various topics concerning effective patent examination processes. She has also completed a 9 month detail as a Resource SPE at the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Office located in Detroit, Michigan where she helped to develop the K-12 outreach program. Ms. Blackwell began her career at the USPTO in December 2000 as an examiner in TC 1700, specifically addressing applications in areas such as semiconductors, nonstructural laminates, glass substrates with coatings, and artificial flora and fauna. In 2008, she became a Primary Examiner, allowing her to exercise independent judgment with regards to the applications upon which she worked. In January 2012 she was promoted to a Supervisory Patent Examiner and served as a Trainer for new examiners in the Patent Training Academy. She transitioned in the Fall of 2012 and began supervising an Art Unit of 13 examiners in TC 1700. She has worked in various parts of the USPTO, on temporary assignments, including periods at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, in the office of Patent Cooperation Treaty, and as a Training Assistant and Supervisory Patent Examiner at the Patent Training Academy. Ms. Blackwell received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She also received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland at Baltimore.