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Richard Torczon
Senior Counsel
Litigation
Washington, D.C.
rtorczon@wsgr.com

D202-973-8811

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Richard Torczon is senior counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the patent litigation practice.

Prior to joining the firm, Richard was an Administrative Patent Judge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where, since 1996, he worked on patent interferences and appeals. During his tenure at the PTAB, he wrote more than a thousand opinions and orders on patent appeals, petitions, motions, and briefs. Richard was an early member of the interference trial section and authored many of the PTAB's rules. He has experience in the full spectrum of technologies reviewed by the PTAB, including computer-based inventions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medical devices, and plant and design patents.

Before serving as a judge, Richard was an associate solicitor in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO's) Office of the Solicitor, where he represented the USPTO on patent and trademark matters, particularly before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Additionally, Richard was an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and prior to joining the government, he worked at the Adachi International Patent Law firm in Nagoya, Japan.

Richard has testified before Congress about the board and has spoken on board-related topics, legal ethics, and effective arguments at programs for numerous organizations, including the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the PTAB Bar Association.

Experience

Richard Torczon is senior counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the patent litigation practice.

Prior to joining the firm, Richard was an Administrative Patent Judge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where, since 1996, he worked on patent interferences and appeals. During his tenure at the PTAB, he wrote more than a thousand opinions and orders on patent appeals, petitions, motions, and briefs. Richard was an early member of the interference trial section and authored many of the PTAB's rules. He has experience in the full spectrum of technologies reviewed by the PTAB, including computer-based inventions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medical devices, and plant and design patents.

Before serving as a judge, Richard was an associate solicitor in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO's) Office of the Solicitor, where he represented the USPTO on patent and trademark matters, particularly before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Additionally, Richard was an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and prior to joining the government, he worked at the Adachi International Patent Law firm in Nagoya, Japan.

Richard has testified before Congress about the board and has spoken on board-related topics, legal ethics, and effective arguments at programs for numerous organizations, including the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the PTAB Bar Association.

Education
  • J.D., University of Texas School of Law
  • M.S., Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University
  • B.A., Computer Science, Rice University
Admissions
  • Bar of the District of Columbia
  • State Bar of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Credentials
Education
  • J.D., University of Texas School of Law
  • M.S., Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University
  • B.A., Computer Science, Rice University
Admissions
  • Bar of the District of Columbia
  • State Bar of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Select Publications

  • It Matters: A Former Administrative Patent Judge’s Take on Arthrex, IP Watchdog, November 11, 2019
  • Co-author with B. Stoner, Jr., N. Linck, and C. Spiegel, Post-Grant Patent Practice, Second Edition, Bloomberg BNA, 2014, with 2016 supplement


Select Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Challenging Patents at the PTAB: Examining Policies, Procedures, and Practice Tips for PIV Practitioners,” 21st Annual Conference on Paragraph IV Disputes, April 2025
  • Panelist, “Prior Art & AI,” PTAB Bar Association Annual Conference, March 2025
  • Moderator, “Impact of Amgen v. Sanofi on Disclosure and Enablement Determinations,” PTAB Bar Association 2023 Thought Leader Summit, October 2023
  • Panelist, “Berkeley/GW Law Roundtable on USPTO Post-Grant Rules Package,” June 2023
  • Witness, Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, July 21, 2022
  • Panelist, “Protecting IP and Litigating into Uncertainty: Challenges from Sections 101 and 112 in the Life Sciences,” Berkeley Advanced Life Sciences Institute, April 2022

  • Panelist, "FDA-PTO Roundtable," George Washington Law School event, Washington, D.C., January 2022
Insights

Select Publications

  • It Matters: A Former Administrative Patent Judge’s Take on Arthrex, IP Watchdog, November 11, 2019
  • Co-author with B. Stoner, Jr., N. Linck, and C. Spiegel, Post-Grant Patent Practice, Second Edition, Bloomberg BNA, 2014, with 2016 supplement


Select Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Challenging Patents at the PTAB: Examining Policies, Procedures, and Practice Tips for PIV Practitioners,” 21st Annual Conference on Paragraph IV Disputes, April 2025
  • Panelist, “Prior Art & AI,” PTAB Bar Association Annual Conference, March 2025
  • Moderator, “Impact of Amgen v. Sanofi on Disclosure and Enablement Determinations,” PTAB Bar Association 2023 Thought Leader Summit, October 2023
  • Panelist, “Berkeley/GW Law Roundtable on USPTO Post-Grant Rules Package,” June 2023
  • Witness, Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, July 21, 2022
  • Panelist, “Protecting IP and Litigating into Uncertainty: Challenges from Sections 101 and 112 in the Life Sciences,” Berkeley Advanced Life Sciences Institute, April 2022

  • Panelist, "FDA-PTO Roundtable," George Washington Law School event, Washington, D.C., January 2022
Focus Areas
  • Intellectual Property
  • Life Sciences
  • Litigation
  • Patent Litigation
  • Post-Grant Review
  • Supreme Court and Appellate
Recent Insights
Alerts
Federal Circuit Provides Path to Written Description and Enablement for Patents Related to Methods of Using a Well-Known Class of Molecules
On April 16, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the court) issued a precedential decision in Teva Pharmaceuticals International GmbH v. Eli Lily and Company, determining that the claims of Teva’s U.S. Patent Nos. 8,586,045 (the ’045 patent), 9,884,907 (the ’907 patent), and 9,884,908 (the ’908 patent) (collectively, the Headache Patents) relating to methods of reducing headache by administration of humanized anti-CGRP antagonist antibodies are not invalid for lack of written description or enablement. The decision reversed a district court’s judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) decision concluding otherwise, and reinstated the jury’s findings that Eli Lilly’s Emgality® product willfully infringed the Headache Patents.
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Alerts
PTAB Again Rules in Favor of Broad in CRISPR-Cas9 Patent Dispute
Key Points
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Recent Events
Affiliated Programs
2026 PTAB Bar Association Annual Conference
Wilson Sonsini is proud to sponsor the 2026 PTAB Bar Association Annual Conference. This event will feature three days of engaging presentations and discussions among practitioners, in-house counsel, and members of the bench, focusing on best practices, recent developments, and current policy considerations.
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Affiliated Programs
PTAB Masters™ 2026
Wilson Sonsini is proud to support the PTAB Masters™ 2026 program presented by IPWatchdog®. This year’s event will focus on what has been a tumultuous year for the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB), with changes that many in the industry feel have swung to favor patent owners at the expense of petitioners. The discussions will tackle the new processing of PTAB filings, the current state of day-to-day practice at the PTAB, winning arguments and best practices for petitioners to prevail on institution, how patent owners can effectively present discretionary denial arguments, the likelihood of legislative and regulatory changes to PTAB practice, and major decisions by both the PTAB and the Federal Circuit.
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