Michelle Lee confirmed as USPTO director

The US Senate has confirmed that Michelle Lee will lead the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), ending a two-year period without a permanent director.

michelle-lee-uspto.jpgLee (pictured left) was approved by the full Senate yesterday (March 9), one week after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favour of her.

Lee, a former deputy general counsel and head of patents at Google, has been the deputy director of the office since December 2013.

The director’s position has been vacant for more than two years, since David Kappos stepped down in January 2013.

Former American Intellectual Property Law Association president Teresa Rea briefly served as the office’s acting director from February 2013 to November 2013.