For many years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been working to reduce patent pendency times. And since 2018, the agency has had specific goals of under 15 months for first office actions and under 24 months for total pendency, on average. We have now achieved these goals! As of September 30, 2019, which is the end of our 2019 fiscal year (FY), the averages are 14.7...

Blog post by Jim Alstrum-Acevedo Supervisory Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) I am a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). My team and I examine pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent applications. My team includes fifteen skilled examiners who evaluate patents concerning short polypeptides having less than 100 amino acids...

Blog post by Tariq Hafiz, Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office My name is Tariq and I am a first-generation professional. I came to the United States of America at the age of 10 and immediately attended elementary school without knowing a word of English. I learned the English alphabet in the 4th grade. I was the only immigrant in the whole school. While growing up being an immigrant...

The following is a cross-post from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Blog post by Laura Peter, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO As a former Silicon Valley intellectual property attorney for more than 20 years, the potential of disruptive technology has long been of special interest to me. Artificial intelligence (AI)...

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the USPTO will host an event focused on space innovation, technology transfer from the Apollo missions, and an overview of the current administration’s policy on space exploration and space commerce. Mark your calendars and register early. Featured speakers include federal government executives, astronauts, inventors, and commercial space...

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Spotlight on Commerce series highlighting the contributions of Department of Commerce employees in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Guest blog by Charles Kim, Director of the Office of Petitions, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) As the Director of the Office of Petitions, I oversee a talented group of petitions examiners...

Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in inducting nineteen of America’s greatest inventors into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) which was held at the historic National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. At the event, Secretary Ross addressed the important role that innovation plays in transforming and advancing our...

Ed. note: This post is part of the Spotlight on Commerce series highlighting the contributions of Department of Commerce employees during Women’s History Month. Guest blog post by Laura Peter, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) This past November, I was appointed Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and...