2022 was a year of change at the USPTO, while familiar trends once again dominated in the legislature and the judiciary. Below are a few of the most important patent developments of the year.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office announced its technology partnership in WIPO GREEN, the international green technology platform of the World Intellectual Property Organization. 

In 2016, the USPTO launched the Patents 4 Patients program to support the $1 billion National Cancer Moonshot initiative. In September of this year, the USPTO announced that the pilot program would be extended through January 31, 2023.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Association (WIPO) have announced a partnership to facilitate the resolution of disputes related to standard essential patents (SEPs).

The USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program, established in 2011 as a component of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, connects small business owners and inventors with pro bono representation to ease the burden of expensive and time-consuming patent prosecution.

The year was defined by an ongoing pandemic, the inauguration of a new president, and a generally shaky economy. Fortunately, the IP industry has continued to grow and adjust and prepare for a future that is hard to predict.

President Biden recently announced Kathi Vidal as his long-awaited nominee for Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the second woman to hold the position.

The Full First Action Interview Pilot Program (FAIPP) was created due to concerns over interview effectiveness. Now discontinued, the program was one of many USPTO attempts to open communication between examiners and patent practitioners. Did the program succeed?

An ideal patent prosecution is quick, cost-efficient, and ultimately successful. The more office actions an application receives, the longer, more expensive, and less viable an application becomes.

2020 is not exactly what we expected, was it? Business has felt anything but usual. Now, at the end of the year, we have time to reflect, consider new best practices and areas of improvement, and keep our fingers crossed that 2021 will be at least a tiny bit less surprising.