The US federal government shutdown may or may not be over by the time this blog goes online, but as of this writing about 1% of the US Patent Office (USPTO) workforce has reportedly been laid off under a reduction in force (RIF) plan connected to the shutdown.
According to Federal News Network, on the very first day of the shutdown the USPTO’s acting Commissioner for Patents Valencia Martin Wallace said the agency will lay off about 1% of its 14,000 employee workforce (126 staffers) “to focus on mission-critical operations”:
“This RIF is necessary to implement the reorganization of the USPTO,” Wallace wrote. Employees who receive RIF notices will be put on administrative leave and will no longer have access to USPTO systems.
In addition, John Squires, the USPTO’s director and the undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property, told employees that the reduction in force “is intended to focus resources on core operations and is not a reflection of anyone’s service, performance or conduct.”
As Reuters reported,
The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on [October 1], as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal. This shutdown is different from past government closures because Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers if lawmakers do not pass legislation to avert the closures.
The dismissals at the USPTO were the first firings reported by Reuters since the shutdown began.
Reuters reported that the USPTO will remain open until further notice using reserve funds from patent and trademark fees collected last year, according to Wallace’s letter and a public notice.
Reuters notes that
Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign to radically reshape the federal government is on track to push out nearly 300,000 workers by December. Though Trump has not singled out the USPTO, which is funded by user fees, for job reductions, some probationary employees lost their jobs earlier this year amid the government’s downsizing efforts.
Inc. reported earlier this year that the government efficiency effort known as “DOGE” could substantially Increase wait times for patents and trademarks, which already have a backlog:
While it’s unclear how many workers at the USPTO have either been laid off or accepted the government’s early retirement option (officials did not reply to a request for comment), Vaishali Udupa, Commissioner of Patents, resigned in February. And people who work regularly with the department say they’ve heard of other, lower-level departures.
That could result in not only longer delays, “but a loss of institutional knowledge at a government agency that is crucial to helping startups defend their creations.”
According to Government Executive, around 4,200 federal government employees were laid off on the tenth day of the shutdown, according to a court filing by the Trump administration that evening.
The Government Executive site notes that
No previous shutdown has triggered such action. Typically, as in the current lapse, shutdowns lead to large numbers of employees being sent home on furlough, who are then recalled when the government reopens. Under a provision Trump signed into law in his first term, those employees are now guaranteed back pay—though the administration has also threatened to circumvent that statute.
The USPTO also announced that it will permanently close the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office in Denver, Colorado, which will affect about 30 employees, most of whom will be working remotely.
The USPTO notes that
The 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) authorized the creation of three or more satellite offices for the USPTO. The USPTO later created five regional offices, in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, San Jose, and Alexandria. The 2022 Unleashing American Innovators Act (UAIA) expanded the USPTO’s footprint by requiring a new type of office—the community outreach office—along with an additional regional office in the Southeast.
The satellite offices were established “to increase outreach activities to better connect patent filers and innovators with the USPTO, enhance patent examiner retention, improve the recruitment of patent examiners, decrease the number of patent applications waiting for examination, and improve the quality of patent examination.”
A typical regional office costs more than $1 million for leased office space and overhead expenses.
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