U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C./photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C./photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ

Thomas Krause, a former attorney for Covington & Burling, has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's deputy general counsel for intellectual property law and solicitor.

Krause steps into his new role on Jan. 14, the USPTO announced Thursday. He has been with the agency's solicitor's office since 2002, when he joined as associate solicitor, special counsel for intellectual property litigation, deputy solicitor and acting solicitor.

Krause replaces Joseph Matal, who was named acting deputy GC for IP and acting solicitor in 2017. 

As deputy GC and solicitor, Krause will represent the USPTO in court and provide advice on IP-related policies and issues. Krause could not be reached for comment, but he said in a statement that he looked “forward to leading this extraordinary group of professionals [in the USPTO's solicitor's office] and continuing the traditions of excellence set by my predecessors.”

USPTO Director and Undersecretary of Commerce for IP Andrei Iancu stated that Krause “is extremely well-qualified and understands the importance of reliable, predictable, and high-quality intellectual property rights.”

While he was in private practice with Covington in Washington, D.C., Krause specialized in patent litigation and prosecution. He's taught IP courses at Georgetown University Law Center since 2001.  

Before he attended Harvard Law School, Krause had a stint with the U.S. Navy as an officer on a fast attack nuclear submarine. He also was named chess champion of South Carolina in 1985.

After graduating from Harvard, where he served as executive editor of the Harvard Law Review, Krause clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, who retired in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment.

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