Dr. Ryan P. O’Connor is a Founding Partner (2006) and President of O’Connor & Company. His practice includes patent preparation and prosecution, as well as intellectual-property strategy consulting, for chemicals, materials, energy, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

Experience

Dr. Ryan O’Connor has over 20 years of R&D and IP experience in the chemicals, energy, and biotechnology industries. Ryan’s thesis studies involved the engineering of new, environmentally friendly reactor technologies. In six years with the biotechnology company NatureWorks LLC (Cargill), Ryan developed patent-pending biorefining technologies to turn biomass (such as corn stalks) into renewable plastics, chemicals, and energy. Service to NatureWorks included drafting patent applications for inventions related to biomass fractionation, new polymer compositions, catalyst formulations, fermentation process optimization, genetic engineering, and other areas. At Range Fuels, a renewable-energy start-up, Ryan directed IP strategy and built, from the ground up, a significant patent portfolio that was successfully sold. At GranBio, a biorefinery technology firm, Ryan built a portfolio including over 175 granted patents and over 125 pending patent applications. In his practice, Ryan has prepared and filed over 1000 U.S. and PCT (international) patent applications, using the principles of patent engineering to obtain the most-valuable patent protection possible for clients.

Education

B.S., University of Notre Dame, Chemical Engineering (summa cum laude)

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering

Bar Admission

Patent Bar, United States Patent & Trademark Office, Registration No. 56693

United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Certification

NAPP-Certified Patent Practitioner, 2008–present

Professional Associations and Societies

National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP)

American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)

Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association (MIPLA)

Patent Trial and Appeal Board Bar Association

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

Board Member, Chemical Engineering and the Law Forum (AIChE)

American Chemical Society (ACS)

American Scientific Affiliation (ASA)