LOS ANGELES—The US Patent and Trademark Office has a new Director in Andrei Iancu, and there is plenty of work on Director Iancu's plate. IP Watchdog recently surveyed notable patent and trademark attorneys across the country asking a simple question: "What should USPTO Director Andrei Iancu do first?"

Womble Bond Dickinson's Farzad Amini was among those offering opinions as to what the USPTO Director should consider. Amini said the process for rejecting claims for lacking any patent-eligible subject matter (the so-called Alice rejections) is something he and other patent practitioners would like reviewed.

"The new Director should, therefore, have the examiners' subject matter eligibility guidelines reviewed and revised to require stricter and consistent standards for making such rejections, while of course remaining consistent with the current law in Alice," he tells IP Watchdog.

Click here to read "What should USPTO Director Andrei Iancu do first?" at IP Watchdog.

A former design engineer, Farzad Amini guides clients in all aspects of drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the electrical and mechanical fields. Amini provides counseling regarding infringement of third party products and services when a client is seeking to enforce a patent and renders validity and infringement opinions. He also counsels on how to deal with threats of infringement, including how to design around a threatening patent or conduct a reexamination of the patent. He practices in Womble Bond Dickinson's Los Angeles office.

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