Lutnick Pledges to Tackle Patent Backlog, China ‘Abuse’ of USPTO

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, labeled the US Patent and Trademark Office’s patent application backlog “unacceptable” and committed to end what he called China’s abuse of the agency during his Wednesday confirmation hearing.

“My pursuit will be rigorous reduction of that to get it down,” Lutnick said of the PTO’s response timeline during the hearing before Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) mentioned inventors’ frustration with the wait time for PTO action on applications.

The PTO “can be much more productive, but the Chinese are abusing us,” Lutnick said, citing his ...