AIPLA 2015: Michelle Lee loud and clear on patent quality drive

The director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Michelle Lee, has said it is becoming increasingly important to grant clear patents.

Speaking today, October 22, in the opening session at the AIPLA 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, Lee said that patents must be correct and clear in order to uphold their quality.

Maintaining clarity is becoming an increasingly important goal due to a rise in entities purchasing patents with the sole purpose of licensing them, she argued during a wide-ranging Q&A with AIPLA executive director Lisa Jorgenson.

Along with the timely issuance of high-quality patents, Lee outlined three other major priorities: ensuring Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings are conducted in a fair manner and that the PTAB continues to issue high-quality rulings, integrating the USPTO’s satellite offices with its “core mission”, and making meaningful improvements to help curtail abusive patent litigation.

As part of the quality drive, Lee said the office is launching a “clarity of the record” pilot programme. Giving one example of how it will work, she said examiners will adopt best practices for providing more detailed explanations for allowing patents. The USPTO will also introduce targeted training for examiners in key areas.

“I am convinced, and stakeholders have told us, that focusing on enhancing patent quality is the right thing to do and that these are the right things to focus on,” she said of her goals.

“We’ve embarked on an unprecedented quest for quality during my time as director of the USPTO, and we will continue to do so,” she added.

Lee said the USPTO has received more than three times the number of PTAB petitions (4,000 to date) than it expected, arguing it has done a “pretty darn good job” in implementing the PTAB system, even if improvements are needed.

Moving on to discuss the role of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, Lee said it is “incredibly important” to expand their opportunities in these areas.

Arguing that “it’s the right thing to do for our economy and our society”, Lee explained: “I launched a women in stem initiative at the USPTO designed to encourage women at all stages … to pursue STEM degrees, elect STEM careers and stay in these fields.”

The AIPLA 2015 Annual Meeting takes place from October 22 to 24 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.