Leith S. Shafi

During his nine years at the USPTO, Leith authored over a thousand office actions, responded to several appeal briefs before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and granted hundreds of patents, employing a collaborative approach with attorneys and inventors. He trained new examiners on the intricacies of patent prosecution and served as a Quality Nominee for the additive manufacturing, nanolithography, and plastic molding technology areas. His USPTO experience includes working with three PTAB judges, drafting ex parte appeal and inter partes review (IPR) decisions for disputes involving e-cigarettes, cosmetic formulations, semiconductors, and smartwatch oximeters.

As a law student, Leith worked as a staff editor for the Georgetown Law Technology Review, covering topics such as smart contracts, facial recognition's impact on First Amendment protections, third-party doctrine, and privacy law. During his graduate studies, Leith joined efforts with scientists and engineers to work on projects ranging from plasma-assisted catalysis to 3D printed nanothermite.

Leith has volunteered to judge for the Collegiate Inventors Competition and several middle school science fairs. He is committed to encouraging the next generation of inventors to take their ideas to the next level.