I want to put an emphasis on high quality, because that’s been a subject of a lot of conversation. We know that there’s legislation pending on the Hill designed to curtail, among other things, abusive patent litigation. We’ve heard a lot of stories about various entities who are taking patents and claims and trying to stretch them to cover products and industries that, perhaps, they were not meant to cover. So in my mind it is really incumbent on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to issue the very best quality patents possible. We do so—and we should do so—because if we don’t do so, it creates a business uncertainty and cost. So your clients, your companies, are going to have to make decisions based upon rights that may or may not be clear.
Discussing her fondest memories as the patent office’s director, Lee recalled awarding “intellectual property” Girl Scout patches to second-graders in Washington who had come up with inventions to earn the honor.
