Michelle Lee expected to “hit the ground running” as USPTO director

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 expected to “hit the ground running” as USPTO director

AIPLA has welcomed the nomination of Michelle Lee to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO

michelle20lee20uspto150.jpg

Wayne Sobon, president of the Association, congratulated Lee. “She will hit the ground running as she faces the multitude of challenges in this role, and we are confident that she will achieve significant and speedy success,” he said in a statement. “At this critical time for the Office and in the IP world generally, filling this important position is long past due.”

“As fellow residents of Silicon Valley who’ve known each other throughout our careers, and in particular as fellow members on the USPTO’s Patent Public Advisory Committee, I appreciate Michelle’s many talents and I am confident that we will be able to work effectively and collaboratively with her in tackling the significant issues ahead.”

Lee has served as Deputy Director of the USPTO since December 2013, and is a former Deputy General Counsel at Google.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Tilleke & Gibbins topped the leaderboard with four awards across the region, while Anand & Anand and Kim & Chang emerged as outstanding domestic firms
News of a new addition to Via LA’s Qi wireless charging patent pool, and potential fee increases at the UKIPO were also among the top talking points
The keenly awaited ruling should act as a ‘call to arms’ for a much-needed evolution of UK copyright law, says Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard
Lawyers at Lavoix provide an overview of the UPC’s approach to inventive step and whether the forum is promoting its own approach rather than following the EPO
Andrew Blattman, who helped IPH gain significant ground in Asia and Canada, will leave in the second half of 2026
The court ordering a complainant to rank its arguments in order of potential success and a win for Edwards Lifesciences were among the top developments in recent weeks
Frederick Lee has rejoined Boies Schiller Flexner, bolstering the firm’s capabilities across AI, media, and entertainment
Nirav Desai and Sasha S Rao at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox explore how companies’ efforts to manage tariffs by altering corporate structures can undermine their ability to assert their patents and recover damages
Monika Żuraw, founder of Żuraw & Partners, discusses why IP should be part of the foundation of a business, and taking on projects that others walk away from
Lawyers say attention will turn to the UK government’s AI consultation after judgment fails to match pre-trial hype
Gift this article