Michelle Lee named deputy director of USPTO

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Michelle Lee named deputy director of USPTO

The director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley satellite office will become deputy director of the agency in January.

michelleleeuspto20150.jpg

Michelle Lee has been appointed the next deputy under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the USPTO. She is the replacement for Teresa Stanek Rea, who left the agency last month

The appointment has led to some speculation that Lee could eventually become the director of the USPTO as well as questions about whether legally she could be appointed at all.

Lee is the director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley satellite office and will begin her new role at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 13 2014.

Before becoming director of the Silicon Valley USPTO, Lee served two terms on the USPTO’s Patent Public Advisory Committee.

Lee previously served as deputy general counsel for Google and was the company’s first head of patents and patent strategy. She also served as a partner at the Silicon Valley-based law firm of Fenwick & West, where she advised a wide range of high-technology clients.

Lee will perform the functions and duties of the USPTO director, a position that has been vacant for almost a year. In accordance with statutory law, she will assume the title of acting director once President Obama nominates a director.

After Lee begins her new role in January, John Cabeca, who has been at the USPTO 25 years, will serve as the director of the Silicon Valley satellite office until the permanent office in San Jose City Hall becomes operational. He is the senior advisor to the under secretary for intellectual property and director of the USPTO and a former Semiconductor Technology Center Director. 

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) welcomed the appointment but expressed its hope that a nomination for director would be forthcoming soon.

"Having been without the full complement of permanent leadership for too long, we are encouraged that this process is now continuing," said Todd Dickinson, executive director of the AIPLA. "We fully appreciate the challenges Michelle will be facing, especially at this critical time, both at the Office and in the world of IP generally, and finding the right balance among diverse stakeholder interests will be perhaps the most important test. We have worked with Michelle as director of the Silicon Valley Office of the USPTO, and we look forward to doing all we can to help her in her new role. We congratulate her on her appointment."

 

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Leaders at US law firms explain what attorneys can learn from AI cases involving Meta and Anthropic, and why the outcomes could guide litigation strategies
Attorneys reveal the trademark and copyright trends they’ve noticed within the first half of 2025
Senior leaders at TE Connectivity and Clarivate explain how they see the future of innovation
A new action filed by Nokia against Asus and a landmark ruling on counterfeits by South Africa’s Supreme Court were also among the top talking points
Counsel explain how they’re navigating patent prosecution matters and highlight key takeaways from Federal Circuit cases
A partner who joined Fenwick alongside two others explains what drew her to the firm and her hopes for growth in Boston
The England and Wales High Court has granted Kirkland & Ellis client Samsung interim declaratory relief in its ongoing FRAND dispute with ZTE
A UDRP decision that found in favour of a small business in a domain name dispute could encourage more businesses to take a stand in ‘David v Goliath’ cases
In Iconix v Dream Pairs, the Supreme Court said the Court of Appeal was wrong to interfere with an earlier ruling, prompting questions about the appeal court’s remit
Chris Moore at HGF reflects on the ‘spirit of collegiality’ that led to an important ruling in G1/24, a case concerning how European patent claims should be interpreted
Gift this article