DOGE Begins Cutting the USPTO

Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began taking a close look on how to improve the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). DOGE’s idea with other federal departments to aggressively cut costs has typically been to lay off federal employees or provide early retirement buyouts. For an institution like the USPTO, there is genuine concern that the impact of future layoffs or a large loss in the workforce will result in a severe loss of institutional knowledge that may take years to recover from.

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That is not to say the office couldn't be improved. Two years ago, they rushed to release a new trademark search feature because the software engineer of the original system was retiring. While the USPTO has updated the process for filing a new trademark to align with modern website functionality, many core filing options still rely on archaic architecture. Improvements can be made at the USPTO, but it is unclear if layoffs will be the best measure of success to improve the office.

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The USPTO is unique among federal agencies as it is entirely fee-funded by users. Last year, the office collected $4.5 billion in fees. About $583 million of which was in trademark fees. The cutting of staff may result in long delay times for applications to get reviewed and eventually register. The USPTO last updated these times in January where the average time to get your trademark reviewed took approximately six months and a little over a year to register. It would not be surprising to see the overall length of a trademark register increase to roughly 1.5 to 2 years.

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Main Link (right click page and use “Open in Reading Open” if in Chrome): DOGE Could Substantially Increase Wait Times for Patents and Trademarks

Opinion Supplement Article 1: DOGE Threatens the Stability of the U.S. Trademark System

Opinion Supplement Article 2: Rader’s Ruminations: Thoughts About the Impact of DOGE on the USPTO