Tillis, Issa, Kiley Ask Vidal to Investigate Issues Raised by ‘Patent Examiner’ Reddit Thread
“We deeply hope that this post is not true, but the USPTO must take this seriously and act quickly to protect innovators and our economy.” – Letter from Senator Tillis, Reps. Kiley and Issa
Last week, IPWatchdog’s CEO and Founder Gene Quinn exposed a “Patent Examiner Reddit” thread in which a purported examiner asked peers for advice on how to approach examination of patents that have purposes they may fundamentally disagree with politically. Now, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) have sent a letter to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Kathi Vidal asking the Office to conduct a review into that matter, as well as “a broader investigation into whether there is a pattern of patent examiners substituting their own preferences and beliefs for the law and USPTO guidance.”
As reported last week, User Snoo_86350 posted the following:
“I have a case in my docket filed by a company in Israel, which is basically for soldiers to provide military solutions by combining real battlefield experience with technological innovation. I have been watching news about Columbia campus protest. And Obviously, I can’t refuse to examine this case and I won’t, but can’t help thinking of Gaza Strip where about 2 million Palestinians live, can’t escape and bombarded. So I have mixed feelings, as I would allow this case, thus strengthening their portfolio only to get more investment. Do you guys any similar experience or feelings? It is my first time to examine this kind of case as our Art Unit rans out of cases.”
A user named zyarva urged Snoo_86350 not to allow the application and recalled instances in which zyarva had purposely stonewalled applicants in order to get them to abandon applications with which they disagreed.
While the USPTO dismissed the comments as unverified and told IPWatchdog that “as a general practice, we do not comment on unverified statements by anonymous commenters on Reddit or any other social media platform,” Quinn noted that the profile for Snoo_86350 “suggests this person is, in fact, a patent examiner.”
In addition to the question posted, Snoo_86350 has discussed special assignment within the Office, eSignature requirements, GS pay-grade, and even non-public emails sent by the Director to all employees, Quinn said. “Snoo_86350 has described themselves as a new primary examiner seeking advice from more experienced primary examiners, explained that at times they have no motivation to search, and has asked questions about what to do when relevant prior art is located after already sending a notice of allowance.”
Quinn urged the USPTO to investigate and find the examiner in question as it shouldn’t be difficult to identify them.
Tillis on Tuesday posted on X about the article, calling it “a matter of great concern” that the USPTO should investigate immediately. “If this proves to be true, we need answers about the executive branch agency culture that fostered this. Concern,” the post added.
“Innovation cannot flourish without a transparent and robust set of rules, which this unnerving claim undermines,” today’s letter said. “We deeply hope that this post is not true, but the USPTO must take this seriously and act quickly to protect innovators and our economy.”
Eileen McDermott
Eileen McDermott is the Editor-in-Chief of IPWatchdog.com. Eileen is a veteran IP and legal journalist, and no stranger to the intellectual property world, having held editorial and managerial positions at […see more]
