[Patentpractice] USPTO employees ordered to "return to office"

[Carl Oppedahl]

On 1/26/2025 8:41 AM, Roger Browdy via Patentpractice wrote:
>
> What if they all come back?  There is probably office space for about 
> 20% of them.
>
Yes, that's the situation. Here 
<https://blog.oppedahl.com/how-trumps-return-to-in-person-work-order-affects-the-uspto/> 
is what I wrote about this:

    Two days later the acting director of the Office of Personnel
    Management issuedthis memorandum
    <https://blog.oppedahl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/OPM-Return-to-Office-Guidance-Memorandum-1-22-25.pdf>which
    says, among other things:

    Federal office buildings sit mostly empty, particularly Washington,
    D.C.-area agency headquarters offices, devastating the local economy
    and serving as a national embarrassment.

    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’s office buildings at once,
    there would not be places for most of them to sit.

In a few days I will be arguing an /ex parte/ 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.

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