Inventor and Prospective Secretary

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is part of the Department of Commerce, and Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce, is or has been an inventor in the field of business methods. The name seemed familiar, so I did a little searching, and confirmed that I was the examiner for three patents with his name on them: U.S. Patent 6,850,907, U.S. Patent 6,963,856, and U.S. Patent 8,209,249. I don’t recall interacting with Mr. Lutnick personally, although I could have done so. Examining the applications would probably have involved written communications with a patent attorney, and perhaps a telephone or in-person interview with an attorney. Anyway, this may be of a little interest.

I have been a part-time teleworker for the past couple of years, but then Donald Trump issued an executive order basically banning teleworking, the brass at the USPTO sent an email telling us not to telework, and the president of the Patent Office Professional Association sent an email saying that we have a contract which provides for teleworking, so the order does not apply to covered employees. I don’t want to be a test case, so I’ve been coming in to the office each day this week to work. There may be further developments.

And now, I will catch a bus, and go in to work.