It’s hard to find a hotter topic than patent reform right now on Capitol Hill. It’s even harder to find what the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has to say about it.

That’s because there hasn’t been a director since David Kappos left more than 10 months ago to join Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. President Barack Obama still hasn’t nominated anyone to replace Kappos — and patent attorneys are voicing concern about the void as several bills move swiftly through Congress.