Patent Quality Improvement Efforts to Continue After Transition of Power, PTO Head Says

The Patent and Trademark Office's Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative and other initiatives aimed at improving patent quality are “here to stay” despite the upcoming change in White House administration, Director Michelle Lee said Tuesday. PTO officials “will be working hard to keep this snowball moving forward and growing,” Lee said during an agency event, according to a prepared version of her remarks. “Stakeholder input and collaboration from around the country -- and indeed, from around the world, including with our counterpart offices overseas -- will continue to be vital to our efforts.” PTO's efforts to improve patent quality have been aimed at issuing patents that are “correct in accordance with the law,” clearly delineate “the patent's boundaries” and are “issued consistently” across examiners, Lee said. “There is a cost to society when the USPTO issues a patent that should not issue, just as there is a cost to society when we don’t issue a patent that should issue. With patents that are overly broad or vague, we create inefficiencies and opportunities for abuse. With patents that are unduly narrow, we discourage incentives to innovate. At a time when IP is more important to our economy than ever before, neither is an option, we have to get this right.”