Director's Blog

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The latest from USPTO leadership
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Major Kayley Squire, Air Force policy fellow at the USPTO, during her time in the Air Force as an aide-de-camp
5 min read

Major Kayley Squire, an Air Force strategic policy fellow and the USPTO’s outgoing senior military advisor, spoke recently with Public Affairs Specialist Christy Whitaker about Squire’s Air Force fellowship with the USPTO and the role she played in enhancing the agency's military outreach initiative.

Recent Posts

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Kathi Vidal sits at the head of a conference table meeting with members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee
12 min read

An efficient and reliable intellectual property (IP) system is critical to innovating, brand building, creating jobs, and solving problems, both here in the United States and around the world. That is why, in addition to our critical policy work—including issuing guidance, engaging in rulemaking, participating in international measures and treaties, providing technical assistance to Congress, and working in the courts—we at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have been laser-focused on our operations, including, importantly, pendency.

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Commissioner for Patents Vaishali Udupa and TC Director Kiesha Bryant at a table having a conversation
5 min read

At the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, Commissioner for Patents Vaishali Udupa recently sat down with Kiesha Bryant, Director of Technology Center 3700 (mechanical engineering, manufacturing, gaming, and medical devices/processes) and a hiring director at the agency, to discuss the hiring of patent examiners.

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USPTO staff interacting with attendees at CES 2024
5 min read

Since I began my tenure over two years ago, the USPTO has worked feverishly to increase American innovation and entrepreneurship.

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USPTO Service to Success event in March 2023 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
3 min read

Did you know U.S. veteran-owned businesses generate $1 trillion annually, employing 3.6 million people? As part of President Biden’s commitment to veterans, military families, and caregivers, the Commerce Department’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is at the forefront of providing intellectual property (IP) and entrepreneurship guidance to service members on active duty, military spouses, National Guardsmen, Reservists, veterans, and military family members around the world.

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LEAP to chambers event at the USPTO
5 min read

Since the moment I was sworn in as Director of this great agency two years ago, I have been guided by the conviction that we must open the doors of opportunity in the innovation community to everyone, not just a select few. Only when every inventor and entrepreneur has an equal chance to bring their new ideas and products to the global marketplace, on a level playing field, does our nation truly thrive.

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graphic representing artificial intelligence
8 min read

Today, based on the exceptional public feedback we’ve received, we announced our Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions in the Federal Register. The guidance, which is effective on February 13, 2024, provides instructions to examiners and stakeholders on how to determine whether the human contribution to an innovation is significant enough to qualify for a patent when artificial intelligence (AI) also contributed. The guidance embraces the use of AI in innovation and provides that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable.