Posts Tagged: "pto director"

Envisioning what Director Iancu should say to his Patent Office team on his first day in office… People have been asking me about my new job: Are we going to be advocates for a “strong” patent system or a “weak” one? Are we in favor of “good” patents and opposed to “bad” ones? I answer that those questions have no place in this Office. Our ideal is to issue every valid patent applied for – and not a single invalid one. Are we going to make some mistakes along the way? Of course we will. Every government agency does – and their work isn’t nearly as complex as ours!

There are no shortage of opinions about what Director Iancu should do now that he is at the helm of America’s innovation agency. To contribute to the advice Director Iancu is no doubt receiving from many corners already, I’ve asked a panel of industry experts to weigh and give their advice about what should be on top of the Iancu agenda.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced that Andrei Iancu began his first official day as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Mr. Iancu, who was nominated by President Trump last August, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Monday. In his new role, Mr. Iancu will provide leadership and oversight to one of the largest intellectual property offices in the world, with over 12,000 employees and an annual budget of over $3 billion. Mr. Iancu will also serve as the principal advisor to the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on domestic and international intellectual property policy matters.

Andrei Iancu was confirmed by the United States Senate to become Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Iancu vote, as expected, resulted in a unanimous confirmation. The final vote in the Senate in favor of Iancu’s nomination was 94 to 0.

On Monday, February 5, 2018, the United States Senate will hold a confirmation vote on Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s pick to become the next Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

For my wishes, I’ll make four. First, as I did last year, I again continue to wish for patent eligibility reform in Congress that would overrule Mayo, Myriad and Alice.With there major industry organizations coming out in 2017 to support legislative reform perhaps this wish will eventually come true, although as of now it seems to be a long shot in 2018. Second, I hope the Federal Circuit dramatically decreases its use of Rule 36 affirmances, and specifically stops using this docket management tool when cases are appealed from the PTAB and also with respect to appeals dealing with 101 patent eligibility issues. Third, I wish for the AIA post grant procedures to be declared unconstitutional, which with the Supreme Court set to decide Oil States in 2018 is at least plausible. Finally, assuming the Supreme Court does not do away with post grant challenges, I wish for the new PTO Director to dramatically reform the post grant process in ways that remove the systemic biases that have made the proceedings hopelessly one-sided against patent owners.

Earlier today President Trump’s nominee to become the new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee… Favorably reporting Andrei Iancu to the full Senate for confirmation as Director of the USPTO is an important next step along the nomination path. This being done today sets up a possibility that Iancu could be confirmed by the full Senate before the end of 2017, although time is fast running out.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to consider the nomination of four political appointees from the Trump Administration. Included among the days’ nominees was Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s selection to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Though the nomination hearing was brief and Iancu’s remarks were very measured, there would be reason for patent owners to think that a more balanced playing field at the USPTO could start to form should Iancu be confirmed as Director of the agency.

Andrei Iancu is leaving an extremely lucrative position as Managing Partner at Irell to make his mark upon the patent system as Director for a salary that many in his wage bracket would consider a stipend. But his chance for significant policy impact is limited by time and the need to immediately deliver valid and timely patents on day one. Hopefully, Director Iancu is already planning some of his initiatives to get a jump start on his legacy.

The USPTO issued a final rule to set or adjust certain patent fees as the agency is authorized to do under the America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011. The fee increases, which include some significant increases to petitioners filing for inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, are ostensibly meant to cover costs for USPTO operations, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) operations and administrative services as the USPTO attempts to achieve strategic goals including backlog reductions and “patent quality enhancements.”… The OMB’s determination of the new fees as a “transfer payment” means that the rule isn’t subject to the requirements of Executive Order 13771, titled Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs and signed on January 30th of this year.

There is growing speculation among Capitol Hill watchers that the Judiciary Committee may soon be ready to hold a nomination hearing to vet Iancu’s credentials to serve as USPTO Director, perhaps as soon as this month. Although there’s a strong chance that the hearing would focus on recent developments like the Allergan-St. Regis Mohawk Tribe patent arbitrage deal, the hearing will be the patent world’s first true glimpse into Iancu’s vision for the role of the USPTO in promoting America’s innovation economy… Some additional details have begun to emerge thanks to a public response to a questionnaire submitted by Iancu to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This filing and attached documents help to flesh out many of the details surrounding the patent attorney’s experience as well as his viewpoints on certain trends affecting patent system stakeholders as outlined in articles and speeches given by this individual.

Inasmuch as the new Director can change, or do whatever they want once in the job, and will be subject to political winds, I thought I’d just tell them what I want and why. Simple. Here’s my list. First, believe in your product and the team that produces the product. Stop the labeling of “legitimate patents” as compared to other, presumably, “illegitimate patents”. There is only one type of patent, the one produced by the PTO. End of story. Each receives the examination it can in light of the fees paid. Each examination is done according to the laws and rules set forth in the statute and in accord with the CAFC administration of that statute vis-à-vis the PTO. This is true across all technologies. Examiner’s do the best they can with the tools available. This includes training, searching, and examining. The PTO does not favor one group over another. It calls balls and strikes in light of the relevant statute or rule.

One area the Office is reviewing is in the area of Examiner Time Analysis. The Office hasn’t changed the classification of applications (i.e., complex versus simple) in a substantive way since 1980, although there were some tweaks made in 2009. Unfortunately, in some fields of invention what was once considered complex is now simple, and what was once simple may now be complex. Cabeca gave an example of a trash can, which once upon a time would be considered very simple, but today it might have various electronics associated, lights, lifts, batteries, making it more complicated than a simple receptacle. Cabeca explained that the Office is reviewing this classification of applications, and what time should be given to examiners, but the Office anticipates that a top to bottom reassessment will take the Office up to two years to complete.

On Friday, August 25, 2017, the Trump Administration announced several nominations, one of which was the nomination of Andrei Iancu to be the next Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Sources had expected this announcement could have come as early as the beginning of July… The fact that Iancu represented TiVo, a patent owner, against big tech in Silicon Valley will undoubtedly lead to a warm reception in certain patent owner segments of the patent community. On the other side of the coin, Iancu’s work in the biotechnology sector will undoubtedly lead to a cold, if not hostile reception.