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 25 years of R&D and IP experience in the chemicals,

energy, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. Ryan’s thesis studies involved the

engineering of new, environmentally friendly reactor technologies. At biotechnology

company NatureWorks LLC (Cargill), Ryan developed biorefining technologies to turn

biomass into renewable plastics, chemicals, and energy. At Range Fuels, a renewable-

energy start-up, Ryan directed IP strategy and built a significant patent portfolio that was

successfully sold. At GranBio, a biorefinery technology firm, Ryan built a portfolio

including well over 200 granted patents. In his patent-law 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. One patent

portfolio developed for a client has been valued at about $2 billion in early 2025.

Education

B.S., University of Notre Dame, Chemical Engineering

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering

Patent Bar Reg. No. 56693, Patent Resources Group at George Mason University

Bar Admission

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

United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board

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 (PTAB)

American Bar Association (ABA)

Licensing Executives Society (LES)

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

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

American Chemical Society (ACS)

American Scientific Affiliation (ASA)