A letter made public only by a United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request confirms that Michelle Lee remains the director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), ending a mystery that has been curiously kept secret since President Trump took office over 50 days ago.
The letter was obtained and published by the US patent blog PatentlyO. Patent lawyers have been speculating furiously for weeks over this question. Lee, who has kept a low profile since Trump took over, was the preceding Obama administration appointee. The letter states that Lee is director but Anthony Scardino is “acting” deputy director.
The letter is available here.
No explanation for the secrecy is mentioned in the letter or the blog.
[…] has a financial incentive to overturn (Trump’s family business). IP Watch has just caught up with the ‘news’ about Michelle Lee (it’s not really news that she keeps her jobs; Nobody ever said otherwise, except the patent […]