Viewpoints: Fireside Chat with USPTO Director Kathi Vidal and Attorney Ray Van Dyke
Recap of the LES online event: A Fireside Chat with Kathi Vidal, USPTO Director moderated by Ray Van Dyke, LES VP for Special Events, Chair of the LES Washington DC Chapter, hosted and sponsored by the Washington, DC Chapter on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.
Kathi Vidal, Director of the USPTO, sat down with attorney Ray Van Dyke, Chair of the LES Washington DC Chapter, for a Fireside Chat webinar, providing an in-depth overview of the USPTO’s latest progress and ongoing challenges.
A key issue Vidal addressed was the impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) on patent law. AI has raised complex questions around inventorship and prior art, sparking debates about the future of IP protections.
Additionally, Vidal outlined ongoing efforts to streamline the patent prosecution process. She also touched on the USPTO’s broader strategic plan, which aims to reduce patent application pendency, increase examiner hires, and clear the existing backlog.
Here are some excerpts from the Fireside Chat.
Q: “Tell us about some of your achievements over the past two and a half years, particularly the things you’re most proud of.”
A: “Everything that we’ve done over the past two and a half years has been through listening, soliciting feedback and pushing things across the finish line that we believe are truly going to make a difference for the agency and for the country.” Vidal also pointed the audience to an impressive list of USPTO Strategic Plan Accomplishments: https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/strategic-planning/accomplishments
Q: “Can you comment on pendency for patents?”
A: “We’re really reducing the pendency when it comes to trademarks. So that’s on a very, very positive path, because there were levers that we could pull beyond just hiring. It’s harder to turn the needle on (patents). We’re testing out different measures in the R&D unit and our hiring has been phenomenal. We hired over 860 patent examiners last year and want to hire 1600 this coming year.”
Check out the USPTO Dashboard here: https://www.uspto.gov/dashboard/patents/
Q: “Let’s turn to one of your favorites (subjects); one of the biggest technological advancements of today is AI. Tell us a little bit about that.”
A: “I think that’s (AI) one of our biggest challenges going forward, to make sure we solve for all of this in the right way, and we harmonize with other countries. We had to think about it in terms of, what if AI is inventing and contributing at that level. How do you look at that? How do you look at the contributions of humans and determine whether AI rises to the level where they should be listed as inventors on patent?”
“I will say one challenge is AI created prior art. My colleagues in Australia went into the back room and had AI invent every chair. You can just imagine that if they put that loose on the internet, all of a sudden, there would be no more patents in the chair space. Certainly, we don’t want AI to block up the entire system by creating this or to use AI by a human to block up patenting by setting loose a bunch of prior art.”
“That’s going to be a challenge because we don’t have a legal hook in the United States. It’s complicated and we really need everybody chiming in through our AI partnership and letting us know, where do they think things should go? Where do they see the opportunities?”
In her closing remarks, Vidal reiterated the vital role of a strong intellectual property ecosystem in fostering innovation and driving economic growth. With continued improvements in diversity, inclusion, and adaptability, the USPTO is poised to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
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About Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada), Inc. (LES):
Established in 1965, LES (USA & Canada) is one of the longest running professional societies supporting the development of members engaged in the creation, commercial development, and orderly transfer of intellectual property. LES members include business executives, lawyers, accountants, consultants, and scientists and engineers; who represent innovation-oriented enterprises of all sizes, professional services firms, universities, and government labs. LES is the largest of 43 global member societies of the Licensing Executives Society International, Inc. (LESI). For more information about LES, visit www.lesusacanada.org.
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