IP NEWS IN JAPAN
USPTO ENDS HIRING FREEZE
On June 13, 2025 the United States Patent and Trademark Office posted new job openings for patent examiner positions in a wide range of technical disciplines. This brings an end to the hiring freeze that was implemented by the agency as a result of President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order mandating a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees. Although the hiring freeze remains in effect at least until July 15, it has been reported that the USPTO was successfully able to obtain a waiver that allows it to resume hiring under certain conditions.[1] Here, it is noteworthy that the positions are limited to non-bargaining unit positions in which employees must physically work at the USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
The USPTO did not indicate the number of examiners to be hired, but it is expected that the resumption of hiring should further the USPTO’s goal of reducing its backlog of unexamined patent applications. As of April 2025, there were 826,974 unexamined applications pending, with an average of 23.2 months between the patent application filing date and the first office action.[2]
[1] See, e.g., https://ipwatchdog.com/2025/06/13/uspto-hiring-freeze-ends-patent-examiners-wanted/