David P. Ruschke
United States Patent & Trademark Office
Honorable David Ruschke is Chief Judge for the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB). He was appointed to the position in May 2016. As Chief Judge, Dr. Ruschke leads the PTAB which is authorized to conduct post-grant trials following the passage of the American Invents Act in 2011. Dr. Ruschke manages the PTAB as it conducts trials, including inter partes, post-grant, and covered business method patent reviews and derivation proceedings, hears appeals from adverse examiner decisions in patent applications and reexamination proceedings, and renders decisions in interferences. In his previous role, Dr. Ruschke managed the intellectual property portfolio of Medtronic's CSH business unit, with sales in excess of $3 billion. As Chief Patent Counsel, Dr. Ruschke participated in numerous patent appeals, interferences, post grant reviews, inter partes reviews, and covered business method patent reviews. He gained extensive experience in post-grant proceedings in Europe and participated in third-party contested proceedings before administrative agencies and courts around the world. He has significant experience in shaping and integrating teams of professionals, as well as managing a workforce that is geographically dispersed. Prior to joining Medtronic, Dr. Ruschke practiced with Covington & Burling in Washington DC, where he litigated claims of patent infringement. Dr. Ruschke's judicial experience includes clerking for Chief Judge Glenn L. Archer, Jr. and Circuit Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Dr. Ruschke received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and holds a PhD in organometallic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in chemistry from the University of Minnesota.
(06/17)
