Exclusive: Google's wish list for the new USPTO director
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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seal. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Companies like Google should pay up front for their patent applications as AI supercharges the work of inventors, Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: Google is sending a signal to John Squires, the newly confirmed leader of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- The tech giant believes that up-front payments from companies that file for high numbers of patents would help USPTO boost its resources so it can review more applications.
By the numbers: In the past year, 17% of Google's inventions were created with the help of AI, DeLaine Prado said.
- Google also holds the most patents related to AI as of May of this year, Axios previously reported.
What they're saying: AI has allowed inventors to increase their number of new works and filings to the patent office, yet the agency hasn't changed the way it operates, DeLaine Prado said.
- "That's not because of bad decisions, that's just numbers and math. We're at an important inflection point where AI is the thing that is driving the increased number of patents, but AI is also a tool that can be used to help review those patents," she said.
- "You absolutely need to have large filers pay up-front fees for their patents, particularly when they are complex," DeLaine Prado said.
How it works: Currently, filers pay on a schedule. "The idea is not to expect to go to appropriations to look for money, but actually use the innovators to pay into that system," DeLaine Prado said.
- She said that smaller businesses and individual inventors would benefit since a well-staffed USPTO office could review their patents faster, too.
What's next: DeLaine Prado is also advocating for Squires to encourage patent examiners to use AI even more in their work, and to streamline the process that allows people to challenge patents granted by the agency.
- "We're not trying to suggest something that is, you know, earth shattering, but actually could move the needle and further protect American innovation and to do so in an efficient way," she said.
