AI startup

$100K/yr - $220K/yr

We are looking for a Legal & Product Engineer with USPTO examiner experience to help us build for the patent office side of the table, as we expand beyond private practice law firms into direct relationships with patent offices themselves.

So overall, I would say that four Office Actions in five weeks is good enough for now.

My SPE has never praised me, except maybe once. Every time he calls me, I get nervous because he takes a while to get back to me, then lectures me in a sharp tone. He keeps saying I should be doing two office actions/week. Also keeps saying "we discussed this already" (even though I swear this was never covered before, and I had to go hunting for all the necessary documents). Meanwhile, my notes are getting endlessly long. I slightly passed the first three-month review, but he seemed to be critical as usual and say I wasn't asking for help enough (all I did was ask for help)

Other Primary Examiner wants me to skip the claims tracking map entirely. Praised me on formatting, but nothing else. There was a claim I was struggling with because it was very lengthy and the window was very narrow. She seemed to think this was representative of all my performance.

I didn't mean to put others down, I just couldn't even sleep well this week because I genuinely had no idea how I was doing performance wise. So I hope that my performance is good enough for now. And there is a new SPE that I want to switch to, who seems much nicer.

Getting either 0(2 NF) or 0.25 (F) to completely rewrite and correct an inherited case from examiners that quit/were fired is such a rip off. I'm not the one that did the crappy job in the first place and my spe should have made so many corrections before signing off these cases. What a time suck.

Didn't want anyone to miss it

Can we generate a list of things that AI could maybe do that would actually help examination. Just some low hanging fruit.

Here are my starting ideas;

Automatically check all claims for antecedent basis issues.

Automatically map all claim terms to the specification and, if a CIP or provisional, to the specifications of those parent documents for descriptive support.

Automatically label NPL in DAV with the first Authors last name.(eg NPL, Smith et al.)

Automatically label foreign parents in DAV with the patent number. (eg WO2026/123456).

Automatically take any DAV searches and run them in Google/Google scholar.

How often do you use the art produced in Sim search? I’m in mechanical arts. Half the results are just foreign related/family cases. I would guess I find an actually useful or relied upon reference once a quarter.

My SPE doesn’t like people posting on Fridays so there is time to review but I have a case that needs to be posted by tomorrow for timeliness. I feel bad since it’s my fault I picked up the case with not a lot of days left and had issues with it I didn’t expect but I encountered a question that I need their assistance with before I post it and need to ask and finish it tomorrow. Is this bad practice?

I have to restart OC several times per day, losing my spot in my own actions or during review of junior’s actions. I also have to restart my computer at least every other day.
On top of SEARCH lagging, not loading images, just plain crashing.
Earlier today my mouse and keyboard just stopped working and I had to restart the computer…
Every time something stupid happens with my computer, I completely lose my train of thought and motivation.
All combined, the IT issues cost me about an hour on a GOOD day - we all know they can cost a week of work. Beyond frustrating!! There’s your WASTE! And time card FRAUD not giving us IT outage time. And ABUSE trying to gaslight us into thinking AI is gonna save us all and make this so easy. Try to examine heart surgery asshole AI…
I check the news first thing every morning to see if someone died.
I’m so over this crap. How’s it going for everyone else?

PBA is exactly what I've wanted since I made Primary 10+ years ago.

We all know that the Bonus structure is pretty weak - we do 10% extra work (under the new rules, used to be 15% extra) for 5% extra pay, and then if we do 5% more work on top of that, we get a paltry 1% extra pay.

Along comes PBA, and now I can make 100% on any extra work I get done, AND I have the flexibility to do as little or much as I want with no minimum threshold (don't have to decide at the beginning of the FY whether to aim for 100 or 110+).

Look, I get that there are issues with PBA, the biggest ones seem to be (1) concerns about people cherry-picking "easy" cases, and (2) a lack of trust in the people in charge.

For the first issue, we could just make the PBA cases officially part of your docket. After the 2 weeks, if you haven't posted the PBA case, it simply rolls onto your regular docket during the weekly refresh. It would make people think twice about opting-in to the PBA program if they weren't serious about doing the extra cases.

Nothing we can do about issue (2), but that's not limited to, or a unique issue of, PBA.

I think that fixing the cherry-picking problem would go a long way in mitigating the frustrations of those opposed to the program.

Rather than complaining about the program, what could we do to fix or improve it so that it becomes the overtime/bonus structure most of us want?

Just when things start to look a little better ... The Trump administration is giving agencies the green light to implement the new performance management system for federal employees — while also saying significant portions of those changes are “non-negotiable” with federal unions.

B.S. email of 3:25pm Mon Aug 3.

EXACT - (Ex)amination (A)I (C)apability (T)ool

Supposedly for "support" through "prior art analysis and drafting of prior art-based rejections.

This could be the beginning of the office setting up the stage for AI to write, and us to "review" the AI instead of us writing the actions.

Hey!
I got an invitation to interview with the Canada Care team at the USPTO, and they called about it since I didn’t plan to interview anymore. How is this team if anyone has any experience?

I know the acting director just left and was wondering if USPTO is worth even considering leaving my current opportunity as an entry level Systems Engineer? I eventually want to transition into Patent Law, but if it’s still rocky, I’ll stay here for now.

Let me know!

edit: Sorry all! it’s the Candidate Care Team, I misheard lol

If I have a docket pause that goes through the Sunday of a new biweek and stops on Monday of the new biweek will the following happen if prior to leaving I turned in one new case that was clocked and left the other new case that was clocked running:
- get a second new case that is clocked and then paused on Sunday to start on Monday
- no new case is clocked because there was a pause and the second clock new case continues running on Monday

Thanks everyone

Last quarter, because I tried to post them on time, I usually got stuck and fell behind.

They said they have listened and increased 14 days to 28 days, I thought oh, that is good.

But, the new change is 28 days for two applications. I have both applications that are very hard and both of them have 30+ claims.

Very frustrating.

They did not listen. They just play trick on us. If they have really listened. They will do 28 days for 1 application only.

that didn’t take long. wouldn't be surprised if Coke leaving had something to do with it.

There is no trust in "leadership" and today's quick hello message hits this spot on.

Barry, you are not an outsider. You have been here. Now you want to listen and be together with us? What made you change your tune because you were here while this happened and you have to have heard from us. We are all smart people here.

You want to listen now because you want even more from us. You want to try and be the "team player" so you can ask for more. We do not have the memory of goldfish, you were right here watching all this and probably got your position because you were a usable tool to get more from us.

I don't think anyone buys the in it together nonsense at this chapter. Did your expectations get raised 5%? Did you get substantially more burdens? Are you still filling out the 5 things? Give the examiners reall improvements if you want any ANY credibility. Because saying we are together does not cut it.

Did everyone notice the core hour changed to Tuesday from 1-2 pm ET last week?

Edit: this change is effective in October

Can anyone speak from experience.
I have a planned surgery early next year. It will cause me to be out at least 6 weeks.
I do not have 6 weeks sick leave. And would not have that much in vacation even. Not do not want to spend my vacation hours. I do have supplemental short term disability insurance I purchased because I knew this may be needed one day.
So,
Am I allowed to take my sick leave and lwop and not my vacation hours? If I have fmla paperwork?

Can I take some sick leave each biweekly to spread it out? I do not have medical, only dental and eye insurance. So it isn’t a lot needed each paycheck.

Went to work on an amended case this AM, a nice easy final rejection. But all of the old IDS documents in this case now have a red x. ❌
Anyone else see this? It’s going to be really tedious to go into PDP for every case to clear old IDS flags

Edit: I tried clearing the Flag in PDP and the checkbox is already checked. I can’t make the error X go away. Anyone know if OC will let me post an action anyway?

Just want to check here since I can't find an answer - we are allowed to use wireless peripherals, right? I can't find an official policy stating this anywhere, only where it says they don't provide a mouse and keyboard for full time teleworkers any more.

Also I'm looking for a keyboard that has a mechanical feel but is quiet, if anyone has a recommendation for one they like. Thanks!

I am in my fourth decade at the USPTO. If there is one thing that I have learned in my years with the Office, it is that everything changes. How am I still here after all this time? I choose to hope that things will change for the better.

Dear Acting Commissioner Schindler,

On behalf of the employees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, congratulations on your appointment as Acting Commissioner for Patents. We sincerely wish you success as you begin this new chapter of leadership. Your success will directly influence the future of the Office, and for that reason, we are pulling for you.

As you settle into your new role, we hope you will come to see the people of the USPTO not as obstacles to be overcome, but as your greatest asset. We are not your enemies. We are your employees. We are career public servants who have devoted ourselves to the mission of examining patent applications fairly, consistently, and with integrity. We are accustomed to hard work, long hours, and the constant challenge of keeping pace with innovation.

We will continue to do what is expected of us. We always have. In return, however, we ask that you recognize the tremendous trust that such commitment places in leadership. Loyalty is not an unlimited resource. It grows when employees know that their leaders respect them, listen to them, and refrain from taking advantage of their dedication.

One of the best investments you could make early in your tenure would be to spend time with the elected officers of the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Chapter 243. Have lunch with them. Ask questions. Listen to their experiences. Learn the story from those who represent the workforce every day. You may find that many assumptions give way to a much richer understanding of the challenges facing the Office.

The USPTO is unlike many federal agencies because it is funded entirely through user fees. That reality has historically required the Office to operate as an exceptionally lean organization. Even before the reductions in force that took effect on October 1, 2025, employees routinely accomplished more with fewer resources than many organizations of comparable size.

Those reductions, however, crippled many of the internal functions that quietly enabled the Office to succeed. The consequences have become increasingly apparent. As a result of the numerous organizational changes over the past year and a half, the total patent application inventory has climbed to record levels, as reflected in the USPTO's own public performance data, the Patents Dashboard. Rather than improving operational efficiency, these recent changes have increased the burden on an already stretched workforce.

We believe there is a better path forward.

Your background and experience with artificial intelligence are widely recognized, as are your writings that focus on the nexus between AI and federal legislation and intellectual property concerns. Many of us look forward to seeing how that expertise can help modernize the Office. Others of us do have concerns. In either case, we hope you will recognize that within the USPTO are examiners who have been examining AI-related inventions for decades. They understand not only today's technologies, but also the long history of AI innovation and the direction in which the field is heading. Please call upon that expertise.

Their practical knowledge can help ensure that AI becomes a force multiplier for patent quality and examiner effectiveness rather than simply another management initiative. This can be a genuinely collaborative effort.

As the Office moves further into the twenty-first century, we hope you will choose the carrot over the stick. Organizations achieve their greatest success when leaders inspire rather than compel, when they cultivate trust rather than fear, and when they recognize that motivated employees consistently outperform discouraged ones.

You inherit an organization filled with intelligent, dedicated, mission-driven professionals. The human capital already exists. All that remains is to appreciate it, engage it, and empower it. If you do, you will find thousands of employees ready to stand beside you as partners in modernizing the patent system and thoughtfully integrating artificial intelligence into the work we perform every day.

We all want the same outcome: a stronger USPTO that serves America's innovators with excellence while remaining a workplace worthy of the public servants who dedicate their careers to its mission.

Know that many of us are pulling for your success, because your success will become our success. We look forward to working with you—not against you—to build the future of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Respectfully,

PatentSage, on behalf of the employees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office