Women Attorneys Few and Far Between at Patent Board Proceedings

Gabrielle Higgins has represented patent owners and challengers more than 100 times at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. And every time, her lead opposing counsel has been male.

“I cannot think of a single occasion where my opponent against whom I am arguing has been a woman,” said Higgins, a partner with Ropes & Gray LLP’s intellectual property practice.

So Higgins and other female patent attorneys said they weren’t surprised by a recent report that found women account for only 10% of total attorney appearances in post-grant proceedings before the agency’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The study, by ...