USPTO Patent Bubble Already Imploding, After Decades of Artificial Inflation, Entire Offices Close for Good
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shrinks just over a decade after SCOTUS handed down Alice
As noted earlier in Daily Links, there are "USPTO layoffs" [1] or 140 workers (maybe more) who will lose their job [2]. 14,000 employees are there, but some will likely leave under the guise of "buyout" or RTO etc. There are many ways to cause people to resign, so "1%" might as well turn out to be 5% or more. They're closing an entire office [3] and already communicate this to staff [4]. Since the USPTO is "funded by operating reserves from fee collections" [5] we can deduce that financial pressures (lack of "demand" for monopolies) play a role. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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Govt shutdown, USPTO layoffs: What you really need to know
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USPTO sends layoff notices after Trump administration threatened shutdown RIFs
On the first day of a government shutdown, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it will close one of its regional offices and lay off employees.
In an email obtained by Federal News Network, USPTO’s acting Commissioner for Patents Valencia Martin Wallace said the agency will lay off about 1% of its 14,000 employee workforce “to focus on mission-critical operations.”
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USPTO Lays Off Employees, Closes Rocky Mountain Office
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US Patent and Trademark office to lay off 1% of its workforce, agency letter says
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will lay off about 1% of its workforce of over 14,000 employees as the agency continues to operate amid a government shutdown, according to an internal letter to agency staff on Wednesday.
The letter from acting patent commissioner Valencia Wallace, which was seen by Reuters, described the layoffs as a reduction in force "to focus on mission-critical operations" and said six positions in the agency's patent unit would be affected.
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Patent office lays off staff, closes Denver office amid broader federal workforce cuts
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office laid off employees on Wednesday as part of a reduction-in-force plan that has been in development for months, according to multiple sources and internal emails reviewed by Bloomberg Law.
The Alexandria-based agency cut positions across several departments, including the communications team, the Office of Public Engagement, and the Patents Unit, according to Bloomberg Law. The layoffs occur as the federal government shut down on Wednesday due to a funding impasse in Congress, although the USPTO remains open and operational, funded by operating reserves from fee collections.