Rea outlines USPTO future after Kappos
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

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

Rea outlines USPTO future after Kappos

Following the departure of USPTO director David Kappos on Friday, the organisation will continue efforts to improve consistency internally and between patent offices around the world, said acting director Teresa Stanek Rea on Saturday

USPTO acting director, Teresa Stanek Rea

“While perfect harmonisation is not achievable, we are going to keep chipping away little by little,” said Rea. “We are trying to gain efficiencies for businesses so that people will file more patent applications with us - and that’s our end-game goal.”

Rea was addressing attendees at AIPLA’s Mid-Winter Institute conference in Tampa on Saturday. Quoting leaders from the 2011 USPTO-hosted Asia-Pacific Cooperation in the 21st Century Forum, she said: “The time for substantive harmonisation is now.”

In an effort to improve patent examination standards around the world, the USPTO has introduced what Rae described as a “train the trainers” programme. Under the scheme, senior examiners from the USPTO coach examiners from developing nations, who then pass on the knowledge they have gained to colleagues in their home countries.

Rea said the USPTO is also working with economists to quantify the financial benefits of a strong IP system to a country’s economy.

She told attendees that, subject to budgetary approval, the Office hopes to hire an additional 1,000 patent examiners this year, which will help to decrease the backlog of applications. The backlog was reduced by 20% under Kappos, despite an average increase in patent applications of 5% per year.

Rea described Kappos as a “true visionary” who made “dramatic changes” to the patent office.

“He made the USPTO a model for the 21st Century – an efficient and customer-friendly organisation,” she said.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

AI
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Counsel explain how pricing flexibility, patent agents and being business partners can help them maintain profitable patent prosecution practices
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Speakers at an INTA event weighed in on why firms should create AI use policies and how they stay on top of the latest developments
Gift this article