NASE News

Gary ONeill & Examiners Edge Member Spotlight

Gary ONeill is the Managing Director of Examiners Edge^® Patent Agency in Dallas, Texas, where he helps self-employed business owners and  micro-business leaders turn innovation into defensible patent assets. A federally licensed U.S. Patent Agent and former senior USPTO Patent Examiner, Gary has supported the prosecution of 1,000+ patent applications across a wide range of technologies. Examiners Edge focuses on practical, business-aligned patent strategy—helping clients reduce competitive risk, improve negotiating leverage, and position their innovations for growth.

Because patents can feel abstract, the firm uses a managed-investment approach with clear decision checkpoints so clients stay in control of scope, timing, and budget. The typical entry point is a 45-minute Patent Asset Strategy Session^™ using the Examiners Edge proprietary evaluation framework to clarify feasibility, priorities, and next steps.

When and why did you join NASE?

I joined NASE in 2021 to stay connected to a national community of self-employed business owners, to access practical resources that support growth, and to align with an organization that advocates for micro-businesses.

What inspired you to enter the field you are in?

I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of engineering, business, and innovative problem-solving. Working inside our nations innovation capitol—the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)—showed me how powerful intellectual property can be when it’s aligned to a real business objective. I wanted to bring that “insider” perspective to small business leaders in a clear, accessible way.

When and why did you start your business?

Examiners Edge^® launched in 2012 to serve a gap I saw repeatedly: strong innovators were building valuable products, but many didn’t have a structured plan to protect what made them different. I built the agency to help business owners reduce competitive risk and treat patents as a managed investment.

How do you market your business?

Our marketing is education-driven. We publish practical insights, speak at small business workshops, and build relationships through partner ecosystems (SBDCs, SCORE, Chambers, and Accelerators). The goal is simple: demystify patents enough that a business owner feels confident taking the next step—booking a Patent Asset Strategy Session^™.

What challenges have you faced in your business? How have you overcome them:

The biggest challenge is that patents are intangible and unfamiliar to many business owners. We address that with clarity: a visual roadmap, plain-English explanations, and decision checkpoints that keep clients in control of scope, timing, and budget. Trust is earned by making the process understandable without oversimplifying it.

Do you have any employees?

We operate with a lean core team and a vetted network of specialists as needed, allowing us to scale support while keeping quality high. Currently we have four employees (full and part time) and a variable number of other partners.

What’s your schedule like, what’s a typical day for you?

As Managing Director and the senior Patent Agent practitioner, my typical day (although I use typical quite loosely) includes managerial oversight of the team members (meetings, answering staff questions, company metrics analyses), review and approval of patent work products, and assessing how ongoing changes in the US patent system (from within the US Patent Office, relevant court rulings, and/or key international IP authority policy shifts) will likely affect our clients and company business model. Other days include active argumentation and negotiations with US government officials on behalf of our clients, at the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office). Finally, some weeks have greater focus on building and nurturing partnerships with small business ecosystems and refining internal systems, so our clients receive consistent, high-quality support.

What’s the best thing about being self-employed?

The freedom to build something meaningful and client-centered. I can focus on impact—helping business owners protect what they’ve built—without layers of bureaucracy. The decade that I spent inside the US Patent Office gave me a front row seat into exactly HOW the US patent system works in practice, WHO uses it, and the sophisticated strategies and nuanced tactics they use to build their companies patent assets. My US Patent Office tenure also illuminated WHAT works in that arena, and equally important what does NOT work. Now that I have learned many of the USPTO internal playbooks, it is quite exciting to use these to the advantage of our clients. My fun is playing ‘patent chess’ against an opponent whose moves you know … before he uses them.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received from a client?

“Gary has an incredible ability to understand your invention and passionately convey it in every required way to the examiner. Anything you value enough to patent, I wouldn’t hesitate to entrust to Gary and his team at Examiners Edge. I couldn’t be more pleased with the journey and outcome”.

What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own business?

You should think VERY carefully about what makes your business different — what is your product, service, methodology, or marketplace uniqueness—, …. and THEN proactively protect those advantages early: before you begin marketing, building websites, social media postings, going to tradeshows, pitch competitions, gathering customers AND creating competitors.  This is where timing and sequencing REALLY DO matter, and you can open opportunities or forfeit them, depending on how you handle this. Essentially the game of business is halfway won if you start well. In business, as in sports and in life, the “set up” truly matters. Build a marketplace defensible business superstructure on top of your intellectual assets. Define your critical relationships and key business systems as intentionally as you build your product.

Which NASE member benefit is most important to you?

At the top I would place access to the HRA 105 legal plan. I also value the expert advice resources in key areas such as finance, accounting, taxes, marketing, and business strategy. The opportunity to get unbiased and specific answers to business questions, such as using the HRA 105 legal plan has been a tremendous benefit. The NASE advocacy for micro-businesses also helps maintain a healthy business climate for smaller businesses.

Any other information you would like to share?

If you’re innovating—launching a new product, improving a service, or building a new process—patent strategy may be worth a conversation. The goal isn’t “a patent at any cost”; it’s a smart, business-aligned plan you can justify and manage. Beyond patents, there is a broad range of intellectual property asset development options and approaches that we discuss with business leaders to help them formulate an optimized, defensible business—without losing rights.