Hello,
Many USPTO employees and members of the broader IP community are concerned about the impact of the administration’s return-to-office policies. Yet, Kathy Duda remains hopeful in her role as president of The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), the union representing USPTO patent examiners. This is likely, in no small part, thanks to her positive working relationship with the USPTO’s leadership.
Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart recently noted on LinkedIn that “over 80% of USPTO employees are not impacted by the President’s RTO plan, including patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys.”
Having spent decades navigating evolving policies, leadership changes, and workplace transformations at the USPTO, Kathy shares in this episode of Clause 8 why she believes everything will work out this time around.
In this episode, Kathy discusses:
How she first got involved with POPA after the union helped her during her pregnancy
Negotiating the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the USPTO in 40 years
Why she’s not getting much sleep recently
Examiners waiting for finality regarding decisions about being able to continue to work remotely
Record backlog reached at the USPTO during the last administration—and efforts to bring it down
Impact of AI on patent examination and what it might look like 30 years from now
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Thanks for listening,
The Clause 8 Team
