Washington – The Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Kathi Vidal to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Vidal is an experienced patent attorney who led the Silicon Valley office of Winston & Strawn.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for tech policy that advances innovation, including high quality patents, for 50 years. The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President Arthur Sidney:
“We look forward to working with the new director to quickly advance the USPTO’s agenda, which we hope will protect rightsholders without chilling innovation or harming interoperability. We also hope the USPTO is able to continue to provide high quality patent examination, is given the resources to hire additional, diverse examiners, and is able to provide additional time for thorough patent examination.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Patent Counsel Joshua Landau:
“Director Vidal’s work is crucial to helping the U.S. continue to be a leader in innovation by providing a balanced patent system that rewards innovation without creating stumbling blocks to other innovations. We look forward to working with Director Vidal to help her improve examination quality at the USPTO and strengthen the IPR system for second-look review of patents that never should have been issued.”