Situation And Progress Report From the USPTO

A high-ranking U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official was in Geneva this week for a meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In a plenary session speech, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Deputy Director Michelle K. Lee summarized recent developments at the Office, including the implementation of the America Invents Act and its transition from first-to-invent to first-to-file; the establishment of new post-grant review proceedings at the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board ( which has now fielded more than 2000 petitions ); and a number of actions aimed at keeping examiners up to speed on new technologies. She also expressed disappointment that The Innovation Act, which passed the House with bi-partisan support, has been stalled in the Senate.