DAVID KAPPOS
Dealing with such a large backlog of patent applications will require many hands to make light work of such an unenviable task. Plans are in place to recruit a thousand new examiners next year and a thousand new examiners the year aſter that, says Kappos. Te USPTO has already made an employment announcement for the 250 new examiner positions that are available now, for which it has received some 3,000 responses. He says: “We have moved from a recruiting model that recruited almost entirely inexperienced people that I would say were not even IP novices, but were IP unaware. We’re now recruiting predominantly people who are IP sophisticated, and mostly even IP experts. We’re currently working through a pool of [3,000] applicants and it’s apparent that we’re going to easily have 250 highly qualified people, who are IP experts and experienced in the IP field. As a result, instead of having to spend about two years getting them up to speed at examining patent applications, we’re now going to be able to spend a period of a few months, so they’ll be productive much more quickly.”
Attracting highly qualified IP practitioners is not a problem for the USPTO, says Kappos, because the USPTO has all the benefits of a governmental agency and a purpose that cannot be found in the private sector. At the USPTO, employees have plenty of bonus opportunities, a health club and a childcare centre, to name but a few things that are extraordinarily attractive, he says. More importantly, the prospect of serving the US and IP offered by the USPTO is a deciding factor when choosing to work for the agency. He says: “Tere is a spirit of service here that you can’t buy at any price working for a law firm, and that’s really important and a big benefit of working here. We’re working very actively in partnership with our union to ensure that we’re continuing to improve our pay, incentives and bonus structures so we can attract and retain the very best scientists, engineers and IP professionals as examiners. But we’re also going to continue to address all those other things, aside from pay, that make this agency a really great place to work and that in the end is what will differentiate us from private-sector employers.”
A well-armed examiner can make all the difference in dealing with the large backlog of patent applications at the USPTO. By providing the right tools, the agency can have examiners who process applications quickly and effortlessly, at least in theory. Kappos says: “Fixing the information technology system is a very high priority for me and I’m spending a lot of my own time on it, because I understand that to get that backlog nailed down to where we need
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it to be, we’re going to have to have information technology that accelerates our examiners and doesn’t inhibit them, as it currently does.”
An overhaul of the USPTO’s information technology system is badly needed, says Kappos, but it is a process that will take time to complete.
Te severity of the resource restrictions at the USPTO must not be underestimated, but recent economic recovery in the US will go a long way to ensuring that they are corrected to the extent that the agency can be prosperous once again. Kappos says: “We do have some pretty severe resource restrictions, but things are picking up at the USPTO, and of course the economy is picking up. Together, those two effects are causing things to move faster at the agency and causing us to produce far more fee income than was anticipated when our budget was constructed for this time last year. I told Congress that our fee collections are going to be between $146 million and $232 million above what we expected. It means things are picking up.”
Tis is good news that has arrived a little too late for the USPTO. Currently, Kappos has one hand tied behind his back when dealing with resources. He says: “We’re not permitted to use any of the [excess] money. Unfortunately, in terms of running this agency right now, I’m saddled with all the incremental expenses
that come from turning the nose of the plane up. We’ve got more output coming out of the agency but that means there’s more contractor expenses, there’s more examiner overtime and there’s more expense for information technology, because we’re pushing the systems harder. I can’t use any of the incremental income to offset the incremental expense.”
Te recent Patent Reform Bill 2010 will go a long way to changing this situation, if it is passed by the legislature. It will allow the USPTO to have access to the funds it needs to do its job to the best of its ability. He says: “We’ve told Congress that the USPTO should have access to more funds and, if we do, we can process more patent applications more quickly and we can put more Americans back to work. Aſter all, this is an innovation agency, which means that when people get their patent applications processed, they are able to create businesses, which means they are able to put people to work and create high-paying jobs. We make it clear that we want to help Congress get it done but we want to get it done because the time is now for patent reform.”
“ WE'VE TOLD CONGRESS THAT THE USPTO SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO MORE FUNDS AND, IF WE DO, WE CAN PROCESS MORE PATENT APPLICATIONS MORE QUICKLY AND WE CAN PUT MORE AMERICANS BACK TO WORK”
A patent quality stamp of approval is the overall aim of the USPTO. Te general quality of US patents is good, says Kappos, but there is always room for improvement. Tis will come from the implementation of an ambitious task force charged with gauging public opinion on the quality of US patents. Te task force, convened under the Patent Public Advisory Committee and co-led by the leadership of the USPTO, has already made a lot of progress. Kappos says: “Tey have collected a tremendous amount of input from the public on the tenets of patent quality and what the USPTO needs to do to improve patent quality. Tey are now preparing for two public meetings to get live public input on the issue. Once complete, the USPTO will be formulating a number of recommendations, which will then be vetted by IP practitioners, in order to move forward with action steps that will be used to change agency practice in relation to improving patent quality.”
Te USPTO is charged with an important task— reinventing itself in the face of overdue patent reform and the growing needs of a nation. It is a tall order as it negotiates the tricky US political field, but the signs are promising. Kappos says: “I guarantee there are no inventions required for us to get these things done, because all it takes is solid leadership and management.”
World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2010
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