USPTO DIRECTOR CONSIDERS CHANGES TO DIRECTOR REVIEW
PROCESS
Recently, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal stated that she is
rethinking the Director Review process and is considering updating
the current guidance on Director Review. The current interim process for Director
Review was last updated September 22, 2022, after the USPTO issued a Request for Comments on the
process.
A number of organizations responded expressing concerns about the issues that
the Director may address in a Director Review. Specifically,
parties have expressed concern that Director Review should not be
used to make policy for the USPTO. For example, U.S. Manufacturers
Association for Development and Enterprise (US MADE) stated that
Director Review “must be limited to the kinds of decisions
that a PTAB panel makes.” US MADE further added that
“the new review process should be structured in a way that
ensures that it is not used to evade [Administrative Procedure Act]
rulemaking and impose new
