USPTO to be Partly Headed by Google Executive

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2013-12-22 18:31:50 UTC
Modified: 2013-12-22 18:31:50 UTC

Michelle Lee
Photo from Asian Pacific Fund

Summary: The USPTO gets leadership from a company that's less known for advocacy of software patents and more to do with opposing them

THE USPTO is typically run by people from companies which it serves. Google is not exactly known as a big fan of software patents (not compared to IBM and Microsoft), so this new appointment gives some hope. As FOSS Force put it, "Reuters reported last week that former Google executive Michelle Lee will take over as deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on January 13."

Google, which probably sells the most Linux devices (or devices that have an operating system from Google), is currently facing patent aggression from Microsoft and Apple, which exploits pro-software patents policies at the USPTO to get patent monopolies on Android implementations. If Michelle Lee is loyal to her previous employer, then she will consider tackling software patents as a whole. David Kappos, who came from IBM (big promoter of software patents) sure defended -- even publicly -- software patents. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

Facebook's Debt Leaps to Over 51 Billion Dollars: A lot of this is a bubble, aside from the bubble the media irresponsibly dubs "AI"
3 Days Ago Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news
Most of This Month Will Deal With EPO Scandals: A timeline of sorts
Links 01/11/2025: Microsoft Distributes Malware Again, Radio Free Asia Shut Down by Dictator: Links for the day
Linux.com is Becoming Microsoft: They took a once-reputable site with a vast audience and turned it into a pile of trash
Microsoft Lunduke: People Pointing Out I'm a Bigot is a Badge of Honour: It's almost as if he openly admits being a troll and is proud of it
Oracle's Debt Continues Rising to All-Time Highs, The "Slop Bubble" is a Smokescreen for Larry Ellison: wishful-thinking bubble waiting to implode completely
News on the Web is Becoming Rare, Shallow, and Difficult to Find: To efficiently and rapidly find original and important news without underlying comprehension/understanding of the news (and its context) is a hard task
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Serial Slopper, WebProNews, and More: getting back into the habit
The Cocaine Patent Office - Part III: European Patent Office Officials Cannot Claim False Identification: Corroborating with other sources is always desirable if possible. We shall do so later in this series.
Still Catching Up, Daily Links a Top Priority: Readers who have additional information about the EPO can send it along to us
Links 01/11/2025: "Americans Are Defaulting on Car Loans at an Alarming Rate" While Many Left to Starve (SNAP): Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/11/2025: FIFO and Gemini Age Survey: Links for the day
Why Does German Media Protect the EPO From Accountability for Cocaine?: Can we trust such media to properly inform the public?
Links 01/11/2025: Microsoft Azure Goes Offline Again: Links for the day
November is Here, Anniversary Party This Coming Friday: Expect this site to return to its normal publication pace either by tomorrow or Monday
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 31, 2025: IRC logs for Friday, October 31, 2025
Gemini Links 01/11/2025: Synergetic Disinformation and Software Maintenance: Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 30, 2025: IRC logs for Thursday, October 30, 2025
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 29, 2025: IRC logs for Wednesday, October 29, 2025