Former judge wants to head patent office, says he’ll “Make Patents Great Again”
"Who's the director of the US Patent and Trademark Office at the moment? It's a tougher question than you'd think.
A patent blog that closely watches USPTO internal politics, IP Watchdog, raised the question earlier this week. Reports last month from Politico and The Hill indicated that Michelle Lee, a former Googler who was appointed in 2014 and is favored by the tech sector, would stay on under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Those reports, published right around Trump's inauguration, seem much less reliable now. IP Watchdog reports that Lee continues to be seen on the 10th floor of the Madison building, where the USPTO director's office is. Yet others continue to advocate for themselves, and on Feb. 3, Lee canceled a scheduled speaking appearance in San Francisco. Since at least Feb. 6, the Commerce Department's website has listed the position of USPTO Director as "vacant" (screenshot by IP Watchdog).
In an e-mail this morning to Ars Technica, a USPTO spokesperson said only, "I cannot provide a comment at this time.""
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