On June 12, the nominee for USPTO Director John Squires was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 20-2. His nomination has been placed on the Senate’s Executive Calendar and will proceed to a floor vote....more
On May 27, the USPTO announced the completion of a critical upgrade to the agency’s core financial system, Momentum, to streamline maintenance of the fee payment systems as well as several internal functions....more
On February 24, 2025 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that David Gooder would step down from his role as Commissioner for Trademarks at the end of the month....more
3/4/2025
/ America Invents Act ,
Apple ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Portal ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On January 20, the same day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Deputy Director of the United States...more
After stepping down as Director of the USPTO in mid-December, Kathi Vidal rejoined the litigation department at Winston & Strawn LLP. Derrick Brent, formerly Deputy Director, is currently Acting Director of the USPTO. It is...more
On November 12, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal announced in a post on LinkedIn and a letter to friends and colleagues that she would be stepping down the second week in December. Deputy Director Derrick Brent will take over until...more
12/3/2024
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Resignation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Directors ,
Fees ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
NPRM ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPS ,
USPTO
Last month, Director Kathi Vidal posted on her blog about global efforts to address climate change through sustainable innovation and about USPTO resources to support the military community....more
On July 7, the Senate passed a resolution “[r]ecognizing the importance of trademarks in the economy and the role of trademarks in protecting consumer safety, by designating the month of July as ‘National Anti-Counterfeiting...more
8/6/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Office ,
Counterfeiting ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On March 8, the USPTO joined other intellectual property offices in celebrating International Women’s Day with a theme of “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”...more
4/4/2024
/ America Invents Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Office ,
Diversity ,
E-Signatures ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Innovation ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
WIPO
Patent Center is slated to fully replace the legacy EFS-Web system and Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (Private PAIR) tool on November 8, 2023. The USPTO continues to host virtual training events to help...more
USPTO News -
On July 11, the USPTO Office of the Chief Economist released the 2022 updates to its Trademark Case Files Dataset and Trademark Assignment Dataset....more
8/8/2023
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Review Board ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Copyright ,
Final Rules ,
OMB ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On April 20, the USPTO announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input regarding potential PTAB reforms, including proposed changes to discretionary institution practices, petition word limits,...more
USPTO Leadership -
..In June, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal delivered official remarks at the 2022 Bench & Bar Conference, a PTAB Pro Bono Fireside Chat, the 2022 SelectUSA Investment Summit, and the AI/ET Partnership Series...more
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. Kathi Vidal, the Biden Administration’s nominee to be the next Director, testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing...more
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. Kathi Vidal, the Biden Administration’s nominee to be the next Director, testified at the Senate Judiciary...more
12/10/2021
/ Final Rules ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Request for Examination ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director. ...more
9/9/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
America Invents Act ,
Biologics ,
Claim Construction ,
Fraud ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Orange Book ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director....more
8/18/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Final Rules ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director....more
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. No announcement from the Biden Administration as to who will be nominated to become the next Director.
IP Toolkit -...more
USPTO News -
USPTO announced a new category for its Patents for Humanity Program for inventors of technology to track, prevent, diagnose, or treat COVID-19....more
5/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fast Track Process ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO News -
..Administrative Patent Judges Michael Cygan and Kristi L. R. Sawert, and Patent Attorney Thomas Volper discussed the one-year ex parte appeal, Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, and what happens after PTAB...more
3/2/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeiting ,
Fast Track Process ,
Japan Patent Office ,
Korea ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO Director Andrei Iancu and Deputy Director Laura Peter resigned from their respective posts prior to inauguration day. Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirschfeld and Senior Counsel Coke Morgan Stewart are temporarily...more
2/2/2021
/ Administrative Resignation ,
America Invents Act ,
E-Commerce ,
Filing Fees ,
Information Reports ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
New Guidance ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Public Comment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO News -
..David Berdan has been appointed USPTO’s General Counsel. As General Counsel, Mr. Berdan will serve as the principal legal advisor to the Director. He will also supervise the Office of General Counsel and...more
USPTO News -
..USPTO releases report on artificial intelligence and intellectual property policy.
..Mary Critharis has been appointed the USPTO’s Acting Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs. Ms....more
11/3/2020
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Final Rules ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trademark Examination Guide ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO ,
World Intellectual Property Organisation