Patent Office RTO Predictions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a judge at the PTAB. Like other parts of the PTO, we have people all over the country, including many in locations very far away from other PTO facilities (eg in FLA and NY). If they try to force everyone back, there will be lots of resignations/retirements. People like me, who live inn the DMV, May be willing to go back to Alexandria, but no one will be happy about it. And unless they raise our production requirements, productivity isn’t going up

I'd imagine the companies that want these patents will raise holy hell if PTO starts losing large numbers of examiners and cannot approve patents in a timely manner. From what I understand, it already takes a couple years to get a patent issued.

Since 97, I've applied for several patents and am shocked that takes this office 6 months - 2 years to review and approve the paperwork. Had no idea the dept was this large. I assumed 100 people worked in this office...lol

Let me guess, none of your patent applications were successful. Because you're clearly not that bright if you think granting a patent is "approving paperwork".

16 and counting but keep trying. All i said is 13K employees is surprising based on my experience with agency. There's no need to sling insults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Email from POPA says examiners are safe to continue work from home.

But supervisors are screwed?

Supervisors and anyone non-bargaining, like OGC, OCFO, etc.

Yes, we're screwed.

And we take zero appropriated funds. So you're saving exactly nothing by doing this and if/when people leave.

SPEs can go in to sit on teams all day.

If you're forced to go in, bring your own lunch and starve the beast.

It’s not just spes. PTAB. OGC. OCFO. HR.

They should RTO if fed employees in other agencies RTO. Examiners are different and should be allowed to work remotely.

Why? If patent examiners and trademark attorneys are able meet their quotas and be 100% remote, what is the value in the support offices (OGC, OHR, CIO, etc) RTO when all their "customers" (the examiners/attorneys) are remote?

[Anonymous]

My guess is that lots of senior PTAB judges will resign/retire. This will mean that many of the judges currently handling ex parte appeals will be moved (mostly against their will) to the trial side so that statutory deadlines are met. This will mean fewer judges handling appeals, so that they will take much longer to decide. I suspect that we are headed back to the three year backlogs of 2013-14 when I started at the Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a judge at the PTAB. Like other parts of the PTO, we have people all over the country, including many in locations very far away from other PTO facilities (eg in FLA and NY). If they try to force everyone back, there will be lots of resignations/retirements. People like me, who live inn the DMV, May be willing to go back to Alexandria, but no one will be happy about it. And unless they raise our production requirements, productivity isn’t going up

I'd imagine the companies that want these patents will raise holy hell if PTO starts losing large numbers of examiners and cannot approve patents in a timely manner. From what I understand, it already takes a couple years to get a patent issued.

Since 97, I've applied for several patents and am shocked that takes this office 6 months - 2 years to review and approve the paperwork. Had no idea the dept was this large. I assumed 100 people worked in this office...lol

Let me guess, none of your patent applications were successful. Because you're clearly not that bright if you think granting a patent is "approving paperwork".

16 and counting but keep trying. All i said is 13K employees is surprising based on my experience with agency. There's no need to sling insults.

DP. I'm surprised you have so little knowledge of why it takes so long to get a patent. It's not just because there is a backlog but because of the level of effort required to search, review and validate.

Many examiners don't make it thru their first year. As PPs have noted, USPTO is a production and quota organization. It's not enough to meet your target, there are also quality requirements. Examiners are incentivized with bonuses to exceed quotas.

You are, of course, welcome to file your application with another country's IP office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that lots of senior PTAB judges will resign/retire. This will mean that many of the judges currently handling ex parte appeals will be moved (mostly against their will) to the trial side so that statutory deadlines are met. This will mean fewer judges handling appeals, so that they will take much longer to decide. I suspect that we are headed back to the three year backlogs of 2013-14 when I started at the Board.

I’m the other PTAB judge on this thread. I was thinking the same thing exactly. Maybe the bloated “management class” of judges will have to start handling a share of AIA trials—I can think of one Vice Chief Judge who has NEVER handled a trail or an appeal, and doubt she is capable of doing even one. These management judges should have to carry some of the load. I will be telling paneling not to assign me more cases after my 9O DU workload is set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a judge at the PTAB. Like other parts of the PTO, we have people all over the country, including many in locations very far away from other PTO facilities (eg in FLA and NY). If they try to force everyone back, there will be lots of resignations/retirements. People like me, who live inn the DMV, May be willing to go back to Alexandria, but no one will be happy about it. And unless they raise our production requirements, productivity isn’t going up

I'd imagine the companies that want these patents will raise holy hell if PTO starts losing large numbers of examiners and cannot approve patents in a timely manner. From what I understand, it already takes a couple years to get a patent issued.

Since 97, I've applied for several patents and am shocked that takes this office 6 months - 2 years to review and approve the paperwork. Had no idea the dept was this large. I assumed 100 people worked in this office...lol

Let me guess, none of your patent applications were successful. Because you're clearly not that bright if you think granting a patent is "approving paperwork".

16 and counting but keep trying. All i said is 13K employees is surprising based on my experience with agency. There's no need to sling insults.

8000 examiners to handle one million patent apps a year, is ridiculously efficient actually. 16 hours to review a patent, with sometimes hundred of pages of filings. Go any lower (as we will now due to forced attrition) and you are basically shifting the burden to the courts, where you will be looking at decades not 1-2 years. What a shame people like you apparently didn’t realize what they had.

[Anonymous]

PTO may be under scrutiny:

On top of this, Elon Musk, whose companies hold large numbers of patents and who already holds tremendous sway in the Trump administration, says "patents are for the weak" and compared them with landmines in warfare. "They don't actually help advance things," he said. "They just stop others from following you."

[Anonymous]

Lutnick's remarks today during his hearing about PTO didn't sound very promising. Patent applications should be under *greater* scrutiny, not less, but he clearly wants PTO to rubber stamp all applications like China does.

[Anonymous]

Had a mtg with the boss today. No RTO. SPE may have to. The buildings are bare. They got rid of all the furniture. Only congress can bring us back in by passing a law overriding the CBA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Had a mtg with the boss today. No RTO. SPE may have to. The buildings are bare. They got rid of all the furniture. Only congress can bring us back in by passing a law overriding the CBA.

They are bringing admin business units back, while examiners get to stay home. So the rest of us are being sacrificed to make a political statement.

[Anonymous]

They dropped the hammer. Anyone not covered by a CBA is being brought back. Three categories (1) people who currently have offices must back 5 days a week starting Monday; (2) people who live within 50 miles of a PTO facility (as the crow flies, commuting distance may be longer), will get an office this month and will have to stop any telework within 5 days of that; and (3) anyone who lives outside the 50 mile radius will be assigned an office in a federal building (not clear if that has to be within 50 miles of your home), and will have to report there with 5 days of the assignment.

This only “works” because 75% of the workforce isn’t covered because of CBAs. Honestly, this is madness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have nowhere to put people

This excuse isn’t going to fly. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

I’m an examiner on the Trademark side. I’m incredibly grateful to be covered by a CBA, but I feel for all my colleagues who aren’t. Our agency is one that actually works really well remotely. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t even crack the top 100 of all issues I am worried about with this administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an examiner on the Trademark side. I’m incredibly grateful to be covered by a CBA, but I feel for all my colleagues who aren’t. Our agency is one that actually works really well remotely. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t even crack the top 100 of all issues I am worried about with this administration.

Wait tell your 5 day RTO colleagues rat you out to DOGE. Hate and Envy are about to become real amongst peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an examiner on the Trademark side. I’m incredibly grateful to be covered by a CBA, but I feel for all my colleagues who aren’t. Our agency is one that actually works really well remotely. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t even crack the top 100 of all issues I am worried about with this administration.

Wait tell your 5 day RTO colleagues rat you out to DOGE. Hate and Envy are about to become real amongst peers.

I doubt it. Most of the agency is still on telework.