Farheena Y. Rasheed is the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She leads a team of litigators who represent the USPTO in court proceedings relating to intellectual property issues.
Ms. Rasheed joined the Solicitors Office in 2010 as an associate solicitor for patent litigation. She has served as the Deputy Solicitor since 2019, leading a team of highly skilled professionals and overseeing all facets of the office’s work, including representing the agency in federal court on patent and trademark matters and defending the agency against high-stakes statutory, regulatory, and constitutional challenges.
Beyond the role of chief litigator for the USPTO, Ms. Rasheed has helped develop USPTO rules and guidelines, shaping IP policy across the federal government, and provided internal counsel on the implementation of the agency’s rules, guidelines, and policies. Her leadership and vision have been instrumental in navigating complex legal landscapes and advancing the mission of the agency.
Prior to joining the USPTO, Ms. Rasheed clerked for the Honorable Marvin J. Garbis on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 2009-2010. She also spent five years in private practice at White & Case LLP in New York and Washington, D.C., where she specialized in patent litigation.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology and biochemistry from Rutgers University, a Master of Science in pharmacology from Rutgers—Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law-Newark, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Rutgers Law Review.