The USPTO is seeking nominations for the 2017 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The medal is presented each year by the President of the United States and is this country's highest award for technological achievement.

The medal is awarded annually to individuals, teams (up to four individuals), companies or divisions of companies for their outstanding contributions to America's economic, environmental and social well-being. By highlighting the national importance of technological innovation, the medal also seeks to inspire future generations of Americans to prepare for and pursue technical careers to keep America at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership.

To learn more, read the press release.

I’d like to cover two areas that I believe will be of interest to you: (1) Our 2016 Performance and Accountability Report, which was released earlier this year; and (2) Updates on our work on improving patent quality. First, as to our patent filings, our utility, plant, and reissue filings increased more than 5% in fiscal year 2016 to over 650,000 applications. This continues the trend in the United States of increasing patent applications. In fact, it represents an almost 50% increase in the number of applications that we received just 10 years ago (2006). Similarly, our patent grants have shown a dramatic increase. We issued approximately 335,000 patents in 2016—almost double the amount that we issued 10 years ago (2006 = 183,187). 

At the same time, we continue to make great strides in reducing the unexamined patent application inventory, decreasing it by almost 3% from last year and 29% from its peak in 2008. We’re also happy to report that we continue to reduce our average total pendency from 26.6 months in fiscal year 2015 to 25.3 months in fiscal year 2016. This pendency is down 22% from just a few years ago (2012).

Read the remarks by Director Michelle K. Lee.

As Director of the Office of Application Engineering and Development (AED), I oversee all aspects of next generation systems engineering, development and implementation at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). I am also responsible for hiring, budget formulation, planning and execution, and laying a foundation for the retirement of legacy systems. 

My office is large and our initiatives are complex. As a result, we have frequent working sessions (standups are not uncommon) where we break problems into manageable components, brainstorm ideas and address. I value my team. Together we are building systems that protect the nation’s intellectual property (IP) through the consistent application of DevOps, user centered design, and advanced agile principles. We have fun, succeed, make mistakes, learn, and get better.

Read the blog by the Department of Commerce.

Women inventors and scientists have made lasting contributions to our nation’s history, but why is it that many people are unable to name one female inventor, but can easily recall male inventors and scientists such as Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein?

Take one woman inventor for example. Actress Hedy Lamarr was best known for her work in Hollywood during MGM's Golden Age, starring in such films as Ziegfeld Girl (1941), White Cargo (1942), and Samson and Delilah (1949). But Lamarr also worked with Hollywood composer George Antheil to invent and patent a frequency hopping technique that today is referenced as an important development in the field of wireless communications. Lamarr and Antheil's frequency hopping reduced the risk of detection or jamming of radio-controlled torpedoes.

Read the blog by the Department of Commerce.

Recently, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, in partnership with the USPTO, announced the 2017 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees. These visionary inventors each patented inventions that revolutionized their industries and changed people’s lives. Of the fifteen new inductees, eight will be honored posthumously.

The criteria for induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame requires candidates to hold a U.S. patent that has contributed significantly to the nation's welfare and the advancement of science and the useful arts.

This year’s class of inductees includes Earl Dickson, inventor of the Band-Aid® Adhesive Bandage, Augustine Sackatt, inventor of drywall, Marshall G. Jones, responsible for laser welding aluminum to copper, and Carolyn Bertozzi, a pioneer in DNA-cell conjugates. Read more about the inspiring work of all the inductees.

Read the guest blog by Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld.

The quarterly Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) meeting was held on March 2 at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The PPAC reviews the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of patent operations and advises the director on these matters.

To learn more, watch the livestream, view the agenda and download the presentation slides.

The USPTO held a Biotechnology, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership meeting on March 16 in Alexandria, Virginia, in order to expand the USPTO’s long-standing partnership with customers in these industry sectors across the country. These partnership meetings provide an informal conduit for all stakeholders to share insights and experiences to improve patent prosecution in biotechnology areas. We highly value our customers’ feedback and individual participation in our efforts to continuously improve the quality of our products and services.

To learn more, view the agenda or watch the livestream.

On March 16, Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Valencia Martin Wallace held the third Patent Quality Chat in the 2017 webinar series on Training for the Examination of High Quality Patents.

Presenters from the Office of Patent Training, Gary Welch, Academy Class Manager, and Bao-Thuy Nguyen, Patent Training Advisor, discussed how the USPTO trains new patent examiners and managers, provides refresher training to seasoned patent examiners and managers, and informs practitioners. Participants had the chance to ask the speakers questions about the training process, give feedback, and suggest new ideas for training USPTO staff.

Patent Quality Chat is a monthly, lunchtime webinar series designed to provide information on patent quality topics and gather public input. The next Patent Quality Chat will be held on April 11 and will discuss examination time analysis.

To learn more about the March Patent Quality Chat, watch the archived video or view the presentation slides.

“Trilateral offices celebrate 35 years of co operation, discuss ways to further advance patent systems worldwide”
European Patent Office

“USPTO Working Group on Regulatory Reform”
Dennis Crouch, Patently-O

“Global Dossier Expanded To More Patent Applications Around the World”
Christina Sperry, National Law Review

“USPTO Adds New Features to PatentsView Tool”
Donald Zuhn, Patent Docs