Changes are coming to the USPTO--Part II: "This is not [just] a tweak or an adjustment"
Posted by Bob Sayre on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 @ 02:05 PM
In my post last week, I profiled comments from incoming United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director David Kappos and reflected on how Kappos aims to reshape operations at the USPTO, including revamping the USPTO count system for measuring examiner production and improving relations between the USPTO and all interested parties. During the nomination hearing from which the captured clips in the previous post were extracted, Kappos also repeatedly referred to discussions he had had with Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to jointly reshape USPTO operations. The USPTO falls under the US Department of Commerce, so Locke will serve as Kappos's boss, and we can expect Locke to guide policy.
This past Wednesday provided me with a surprising opportunity to see Secretary Locke at the office, as he visited the Cambridge Innovation Center to meet with Cambridge Innovation Center CEO Timothy Rowe and with a few CIC tenants, including the inbound marketing gurus downstairs at Hubspot (who, naturally, snapped a great photo with Secretary Gary Locke).
Alas, Modern Times Legal did not make the short list of companies meeting with the Secretary so I cannot offer a personal interview, though I can offer the next best thing--a recap from CIC CEO Timothy Rowe on what Secretary Locke had to say about reshaping the US patent system:
Secretary Locke used the occasion of the luncheon at CIC to highlight some of his priorities as he enters office, including what he termed a major redesign of the patent system. He pointed out that mounting numbers of pending patents are creating unacceptable uncertainty that harms business. In describing the planned changes he said “this is not a tweak or an adjustment” but rather a complete restructuring from the ground up. Stay tuned.
A full report on Locke's visit is available on the CIC blog.
At this stage, I cannot overemphasize the importance of this restructuring. Lest you doubt the impact that the USPTO Director and Commerce Secretary can have on US patent practice, let's revisit what happened to patent allowance rates under the previous USPTO Director, John Dudas, who served in that position from 2002 until January 2009:
Do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting that allowance rates will quickly rocket from 42% back up to 70% at the USPTO under Locke and Kappos, though I am proud to note that the allowance rate for US patent applications prosecuted by Modern Times Legal with final resolutions (i.e., allowance, abandonment or RCE) from January 2008 through today continues to trounce the norm with an allowance rate of at least 70%. And I am optimistic that we will start to see faster and fairer resolutions overall for patent applications filed at the USPTO.
What happens next? Subscribe to the RSS or email feeds (see box in column to the right) for this blog to receive additional updates on changes at the USPTO and what they will mean for applicants. Past results do not guarantee future sucess, though Modern Times Legal has thus far been successful in obtaining patents for most clients no matter the climate at the USPTO.