USPTO Director: ‘Now’s the Time to Make IP Better’
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Kathi Vidal urged INTA members to share their ideas on how to improve the intellectual property (IP) system, reports Tom Phillips.
In her new role since April 13, Ms. Vidal, the former managing partner of Winston & Strawn LLP (US), said she is focused on tackling bad actors and the backlog at the Trademark Registry.
She made her remarks at yesterday’s Capsule Keynote: America’s Innovation Agency: Kathi Vidal, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
“I’m very pleased to lead the USPTO,” said Ms. Vidal, adding that she was “astonished at the creativity, passion, and energy of the people” within the organization.
Earlier in the day, she had “a really good” conversation with INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo, she said, noting: “It seems like we’re aligned on so many issues. I want to congratulate everyone at INTA for all that you do.”
Counterfeit Behavior
Turning her attention to counterfeits, a topic she frequently explored, Ms. Vidal stressed that she is aware of an increase in counterfeit behavior and that protecting brands “was more important than it has ever been.”
She had experienced it first-hand in her career, representing companies whose patents had been infringed. “I know that it’s really frustrating,” she said, promising to do “everything I can” to combat it.
Ms. Vidal praised the USPTO’s “Go for Real” anticounterfeiting campaign directed by Academy Award-nominated Trevor White, which it created in conjunction with the National Crime Prevention Council, and said the office needed to do more projects like this “so that we’re changing the dialogue” on counterfeits.
Tackling speculation over the Biden Administration’s attitude toward IP, she said: “We believe in strong IP rights—I want to make that very clear.
“There’s a long list of things we want to do during this Administration, and I look forward to working with all of you on that. I look forward to hearing your thoughts,” she said, urging members to contact her with “any good idea,” whether by writing a letter to The New York Times or simply sending her an email.
“We want to listen to all of them because we want to make this system better,” she added.
Turning to trademark filings, Ms. Vidal highlighted that trademark filing “surged” in 2021, up 27.5 percent from the previous year.
“We’ve seen consistent growth for over a decade and we have to thank the 335 trademark examining attorneys for all the hard work they put into that. They’re fantastic, and we couldn’t do this without their continuous effort,” she said.
Trademark Backlog
According to the USPTO Director, the enormous growth in filings has created a backlog of 544,000 unexamined classes. First action pendency stands at about 7.8 months, and disposal pendency at 12.8 months.
“Please know, we are doing what we can to address that,” said Ms. Vidal.
“We are boosting the protection of our Register, and addressing sophisticated and evolving criminal schemes remains a top priority of the USPTO.”
Kathi Vidal, USPTO
She revealed that the Office has hired 32 additional examiners and is deploying new technologies to help.
In response to a question from an audience member on this issue, USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks David S. Gooder, sitting alongside Ms. Vidal, said there is “no silver bullet” to solve the issue, but that the Office was taking the opportunity to look at a variety of ways to reduce the backlog. “It’s going to take some time,” he added.
Ms. Vidal also disclosed that the Office is expanding its resources dedicated to addressing bad actors.
“We are boosting the protection of our Register, and addressing sophisticated and evolving criminal schemes remains a top priority of the USPTO,” she confirmed, highlighting the efforts of the Special Task Force dedicated to tackling inappropriate actions, hiring new investigators, and an automated filing validation process.
“For somebody who comes from a litigation space, I could not be more thrilled that we’re doing that because every time we have rules and laws, there are always people looking for opportunistic behavior to benefit themselves that does not benefit the country,” Ms. Vidal said.
She also recalled the “shocking” Abtach Ltd scam, which saw fraudsters in Pakistan adopt the identities of trademark examiners to trick people into paying for fake trademark applications.
The Office sent a strongly-worded show cause order to the company in November 2021, accusing it of violating the USPTO’s codes of practice.
“We are trying to stop this action in the first place in addition to sanctioning it,” Ms. Vidal said.
Diversity and Inclusion
In her remarks, she also announced a USPTO initiative called the Council for Inclusive Innovation.
“We’re bringing in some of the brightest minds in the country to think about how we can be more inclusive in innovation. This is such an important initiative, and I’m really looking forward to hearing feedback on it,” said Ms. Vidal, who is vice chair of the program with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo acting as chair.
“This is the time, with this Administration and these great people at the USPTO, that we can do better,” she added.
Pro Bono Platform
Ms. Vidal also thanked INTA for its “really important” Pro Bono Clearinghouse program.
“We need to do everything we can to make sure that everybody has access to our IP system and this is something that at the USPTO, during this Administration, we’re focused on,” said Ms. Vidal.
“We want to create and incentivize more innovation for more people in underserved communities. We want to bring that innovation impact, and that’s going to involve making sure we’re protecting that innovation and there are no barriers to accessing IP.”
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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