Valencia Martin Wallace

Deputy Commissioner Patents, USPTO

As Deputy Commissioner for Patents, Ms. Martin Wallace manages and leads the Patent Organization’s efforts related to international IP harmonization and oversees patent examining functions in Technology Centers that examine the technologies of communication, mechanical engineering, manufacturing and medical devices and processes and design. Regarding international IP harmonization, she specifically provides executive leadership on international patent legal issues and various work sharing efforts with international partners.
Ms. Martin Wallace is currently the Executive Lead for the USPTO’s new initiative the National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI). The NCEAI, comprised of representatives from industry, academia, and government, will help guide the USPTO in developing a comprehensive national strategy to build a more diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem by encouraging participation demographically, geographically, and economically.

As part of her twenty-eight year career at the USPTO, she recently served as Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality where she was responsible for sustaining the high quality of the USPTO’s patent examination processes and products. She also served as Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, where Ms. Martin Wallace oversaw operations in the software technology centers, served as executive co-lead on the implementation of the AIA First-Inventor-to-File statutory framework, and led the implementation of the Office of Patent Examination Support Services.

Ms. Martin Wallace is a graduate of Howard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and The George Washington University School of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctorate. She has also received a certificate in Advanced Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Public Administration.