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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/26/2025 8:41 AM, Roger Browdy via
      Patentpractice wrote:<br>
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    <blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CO6PR04MB839687F480594EE0419D600B9CED2@CO6PR04MB8396.namprd04.prod.outlook.com">
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        <p class="MsoNormal">What if they all come back?  There is
          probably office space for about 20% of them.</p>
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    </blockquote>
    <p>Yes, that's the situation.  <a
href="https://blog.oppedahl.com/how-trumps-return-to-in-person-work-order-affects-the-uspto/">Here</a>
      is what I wrote about this:<br>
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    <blockquote>
      <p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Libre Franklin&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Two
        days later the acting director of the Office of Personnel
        Management issued<span> </span><a
href="https://blog.oppedahl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/OPM-Return-to-Office-Guidance-Memorandum-1-22-25.pdf"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-decoration: none; box-shadow: rgb(15, 15, 15) 0px -1px 0px inset; transition: color 80ms ease-in, box-shadow 130ms ease-in-out, -webkit-box-shadow 130ms ease-in-out;">this
          memorandum</a><span> </span>which says, among other things:</p>
      <p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Libre Franklin&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Federal
        office buildings sit mostly empty, particularly Washington,
        D.C.-area agency headquarters offices, devastating the local
        economy and serving as a national embarrassment.</p>
      <p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Libre Franklin&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">This
        characterization does not accurately describe the situation at
        the USPTO.  In recent years, the USPTO has given up two of the
        five office buildings in its Alexandria campus in recognition of
        its remote work arrangements.  Put plainly, if somehow all USPTO
        employees were to descend upon the USPTO\u2019s office buildings at
        once, there would not be places for most of them to sit.</p>
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    <p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Libre Franklin&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">In
      a few days I will be arguing an <i>ex parte</i> patent appeal at
      the Madison building.  What I expected all along is that I would
      see one judge in person and the other two judges would only be on
      computer screens.  But now I am wondering of maybe two or even
      three judges will show up in person at my hearing.<br>
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