USPTO Regional Offices Forge Ahead in 2016
Blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Michelle K. Lee
USPTO regional offices support our core mission of fostering American innovation and competitiveness by offering services to entrepreneurs, inventors, and small businesses, while effectively engaging communities and local industries. All four of our regional offices now have directors, making us well-positioned to fully advance this mission. The establishment of four USPTO regional offices fulfills a commitment dating to September 16, 2011, when President Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) into law. All the regional offices have been busy these last few months, including holding events for World IP Day and enabling local innovators to participate virtually in the Patent Quality Community Symposium.
Since its grand opening on November 9, 2015, the Texas Regional Office in Dallas welcomed its first class of patent examiners in January, and they are expected to complete their initial training and move into their offices by the end of April. The office also welcomed five new Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) judges in the first quarter of 2016, thereby reaching a total of 17 PTAB judges. The Texas Regional office has already held a number of outreach events in 2016, including three seminars on patents, trademarks and petitions, and a Congressional App Challenge celebration for students and their families who participated in the competition from Congresswomen Eddie Bernice Johnson’s district.
The West Coast Regional Office in Silicon Valley continues to engage in conversations about policy decisions that affect innovation. It’s hard to believe the Silicon Valley office officially opened only six months ago, on October 15, 2015. It has already celebrated the graduation of its first training academy of examiners and welcomed its second academy in February.
The office is serving the regional entrepreneurial community with events such as “Speed Dating for Startups,” co-sponsored by Santa Clara University, where over 150 entrepreneurs, small business owners, and students learned about incorporating IP into their business strategies. Several top USPTO officials also participated in an “Inventor and Entrepreneur Forum” at the University of California, Irvine Applied Innovation Lab, which had 700 attendees in person and online. The office also recently welcomed Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, who discussed the importance of open data to innovation in an entrepreneurs’ showcase, and Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews who met with the newest class of examiners and the newest PTAB judge.
The Rocky Mountain Regional Office, which will celebrate its second anniversary in June, has experienced a number of firsts since our last update. The office hosted its first Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) argument, with participants in Denver appearing before the TTAB via the USPTO’s telecommunications system, and will also be holding its first AIA trial proceeding in the month of April. The office is now fully staffed with PTAB judges and examiners, with the addition of two new PTAB judges, and a third class of patent examiners that graduated recently.
Under the leadership of Regional Director Molly Kocialski, education efforts and partnerships in the Rocky Mountain region have expanded significantly, with outreach visits and events across Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. These include conferences, listening tours, participation in startup weeks in the region, STEM engagement, presentations, office hours, and meetings with members of the public and partners across the region. Additionally, we were very excited to release a new USPTO inventor trading card featuring Rocky Mountain inventor and noted autism advocate Dr. Temple Grandin.
The Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Office in Detroit has continued to host PTAB hearings, including their first live Inter Partes Review trial in January, and recently welcomed a new Administrative Patent Judge, bringing the total to 11 PTAB judges. The office has been active in the community as well, recently hosting the first Patent Drafting Competition in conjunction with University of Detroit Mercy. Law schools from around the Midwest region sent teams to Detroit to present in front of a panel of judges including patent examiners, PTAB judges and IP practitioners, with Indiana University Maurer School of Law winning the competition.
In March, Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison joined Midwest Regional Director Dr. Christal Sheppard at the IP Spring Seminar in East Lansing, Michigan, coordinated by the Michigan State Bar IP Section, and also spoke to 60 local entrepreneurs at a Trademark Lunch and Learn at TechTown Detroit. In a continuous effort to attract a talented workforce, the Midwest Regional Office will be hiring a new class of patent examiners soon and has been on the recruiting trail with stops at several local university career fairs and informational sessions.
The USPTO regional offices play an important role in supporting the overall mission of our agency, including ensuring easier access by innovators and entrepreneurs to resources and intellectual property protections they need to compete in today’s global economy. To find out more about events in any of our regional offices, visit the events page of the USPTO website, and for employment opportunities, visit USAjobs.gov for openings. I will continue to keep you informed about new updates on our regional offices throughout the year on this blog.
Posted at 06:01AM May 17, 2016 in USPTO |