USPTO acting director heads for the exit
Acting director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Teresa Stanek Rea is set to leave her post, she has revealed in an email to colleagues.
Rea said on September 12 that she will be leaving “in the near future”, adding that it had been a “tremendous honour and a true pleasure” to serve as both deputy and acting director.
Rea was handed the deputy director role in March 2011 and has been leading the USPTO since former director David Kappos left in January this year. He has still not been replaced.
Peggy Focarino, the current commissioner for patents, is likely to replace Rea.
On the USPTO website, Rea is said to provide “leadership and oversight of the day-to-day management of the policy, budget, and operations” at the agency.
Jim Kulbaski, partner at law firm Oblon Spivak in Virginia, said while Rea will not be remembered for any notable individual achievements, she was “there as the number two to David Kappos who did so many great things”.
The implementation of the America Invents Act, which changed the US patent system from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file setup, was seen as a highlight of Kappos’s reign.
Rory Radding, partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, said Rea helped to implement the patent prosecution highway, an initiative providing fast-track patent prosecution by sharing information with other patent offices.
“She was obviously in the shadow of Kappos,” he added.
Rea is rumoured to be heading for a big corporation, according to Kulbaski, but it is possible she will go back to Crowell & Moring LLP, where she previously worked.
Senior members of USTPO staff have typically struggled when returning to private practice, he added, being less successful than those leaving more junior roles such as the commissioner for patents.
Speaking of Kappos’s replacement, Kulbaski said: “There is no leading candidate for the position.”
In her letter to USPTO staff, Rea said she believed “that we will soon welcome a new director who will continue guiding the excellent work of the agency. Until then, I will do everything I can to ensure a smooth transition”.
