Hello,
On January 20, 2025, Coke Morgan Stewart was named Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). And in this special episode of Clause 8, Eli shares why Coke Morgan Stewart is the perfect choice and should now be nominated and confirmed for the Director role.
When it comes to what will make the next USPTO director successful, three main criteria stand out:
Appreciates the challenges that America’s patent system is facing.
A deep understanding of how the USPTO operates.
Experience navigating complex political environments.
Coke Morgan Stewart exceeds expectations on all fronts. Her extensive career within the USPTO, including several senior leadership roles, has given her unparalleled insight into the agency's inner workings. She is also highly regarded and liked by her USPTO colleagues (she was mentioned on a previous Clause 8 episode for helping start the USPTO’s AI working group). Combined with her tenure as Deputy Attorney General in Virginia and in Governor Youngkin’s administration, she brings a rare blend of institutional background and political acumen—qualities essential for effectively leading the USPTO through today’s challenges in this administration.
Listen to the episode to hear Eli’s key focus areas for the USPTO including:
Reducing the backlog of patent applications and improving the efficiency of examination processes.
Patent eligibility under Section 101, especially for AI-related inventions.
Making former Director Andrei Iancu’s previous improvements to the PTAB durable.
Advocating for legislative action to strengthen America’s patent system, supported by a capable and committed USPTO leadership team.
Thanks,
The Clause 8 Team
Eli here…
As I discuss in this special episode, I was planning to do an episode about a short list for Trump’s USPTO Director. Coke topped the list along with others who I think fit the above criteria, have a track record of focusing on patent policy, and have the necessary political credentials. Some of those others that I had in mind include stalwarts of pro-patent advocacy like Brian O’Shaughnessy and James Edwards, past Clause 8 guests Nick Matich and David Boundy, and Peter-Anthony Pappas (Senator Tillis’ current IP advisor and long time veteran of the USPTO). I did not think that the names that were being publicly floated had much chance of being chosen but I knew that the selection process becomes increasingly random the longer it drags out and that this administration in particular has the capacity to surprise.
So, I was elated to see Coke being chosen as the acting director on the first day of the administration and decided to record this episode about that. Like I know the administration is planning to do with others being named to acting roles, I’m hoping that she'll soon be nominated to be the Director of the USPTO. This will give her the necessary authority and time to implement the many positive changes that are needed at the USPTO. I am also hopeful that those others I had in mind will be considered for the USPTO’s Deputy Director role and drawn upon to help the effort of strengthening America’s IP system in other ways.
Before the election, Coke herself wrote about what that effort might look like under this administration. The choice of Howard Lutnick (David Boundy’s old boss at Cantor Fitzgerald) as Secretary of Commerce and Coke as acting director suggest that the effort will likely be successful.
Although much of the patent community is understandably focused on how the administration’s current return-to-office push will impact the USPTO, it’s unlikely that push will be allowed to impede making the improvements that are necessary at the agency. After recording, I saw that the Commerce Department's memo on "Return to In-Person Work" specifically stated it did not apply to the USPTO.
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