The New York Times reports that the U.S. Senate voted this week to confirm Michelle K. Lee as Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Prior to her confirmation, Lee served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO, and has been the acting director of the USPTO during the position’s vacancy for the past two years. In her new capacity, Lee is expected to oversee reforms at the agency, most specifically to address the significant backlog of unexamined patent applications, which currently number more than 600,000. Read the full article here. Reposted from The New York Times.