Panelist Monte Falcoff, a principal and patent and trademark lawyer at Harness IP in Detroit and an adjunct professor of IP law at Michigan State University College of Law, said the USPTO will find Metro Detroit a great place to do business.

“Patent quality should increase by the PTO hiring examiners from the very talented and experienced engineers and patent attorneys in Michigan,” he said. “Approximately two-thirds of the patent examiners in the PTO’s Northern Virginia office have little or no real world engineering experience but that should become less of an issue with the new Detroit examiners. In turn, these more technically experienced examiners should better understand the patent applications, prior art and the ordinary skill level in the industry thereby improving the patent examination process.”

Read full article.