Attorney Advisor (Trademark Examining Attorney) for USPTO Forum

[Anonymous User]

I started at the PTO in 2018 and, unless something has changed in the health insurance process, the materials I still have seem to indicate that, if you sign up for health insurance, the insurance goes into effect the following pay period. The PTO goes with bi-week pay periods (meaning every other week). That being said, from what I recall, the process isn't as immediate, so while you will have coverage, it may take them longer to process your enrollment and get you your cards. As I recall, they gave us information about what to do if we needed something before we were formally enrolled.

As far as the parental leave policy goes, I'm not entirely familiar with the inner workings, but it is my understanding that with the recently passed policy that goes into effect October 1, you have to be employed by the federal government for 1 year before you qualify.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks so much! OP here. Husband may have to change jobs as well so it’s good to know that medical insurance may start right away. In an abundance of caution, and after reviewing all the great benefits of the parental leave act, I’ve decided to wait. Want to get established and have at least the year mark under my belt. Really appreciate your insight.

[S.P.F. 30]

Question for the May Class:

For those of you with families what are you doing regarding the move? Assuming, of course, the October date will actually be the new start date. Are you going to move early (August/Sept) so your kids can start the school year in VA/MD/DC or are you going to just apartment/AirBnb the first few months/year and move the family after you've been in the job for the first year?

May was a lot easier for that question as you were likely to just solo it for two-months and move proper come summer. Being in the middle of Fall makes it appreciably trickier.

[Colonials]

Hey SPF! I don’t have children but I have heard that the DC day care or schools can be quite a rat race and have long waiting lists. I’ve heard that even when people aren’t ready to come back from maternity leave, they will pay a day care’s tuition even though they are not using the services just to keep their spot. Not to stress you out, and perhaps covid has shaken up waiting lists so you can scoot through, but just wanted to share. I have no idea how enrollment in public schools work, but my best friend is a Fairfax county school public teacher so feel free to PM me if you think talking with her could help. I lived here in law school but was practicing in Florida. I moved up for the job as well before it got delayed so if you need any help re moving overall, please let me know.

I don’t know how old your children are, but I’ve heard if you are a USPTO employee that you may be able to skip ahead in the line or otherwise get some benefit for the highly rated Bright Horizons Innovation Station day care which is on the USPTO’s campus. Can any other USPTO employees comment to this?

[Colonials]

Hey SPF,

I did receive your message but apparently cannot reply because have not been active enough on TLS. Who knew?! Sorry about that. Am new to TLS.

Anyways, I think SPF and I were curious if anyone from the May class has decided *not* to go forward and withdraw interest based on the delayed start date?

We appear to be on board but just wanted to know if anyone withdrew which may affect things as well.

[Anonymous User]

Maybe some people will withdraw after their email this past week. Some days I just want off the rollercoaster.

[Anonymous User]

What did the email say?

[Anonymous User]

Oh nothing, just that our May start date which got delayed to an October start date just got delayed again to a possible mid-December start date and to definitely not move up to the DC area though and another update in August will come to “firm up” the deadline but obviously these are unprecedented times so don’t hold your breath k thx bye

[Anonymous User]

Sends a letter at the beginning of July: 'October? Ha! We now anticipate mid-December, but we hope to provide some kind timeline by the end of August.'

Translation: After four months of jerking you around, we still have no plan, but we expect you to wait around another two months just to hear back from us again saying that we have no plan.

Also, mid-December? Does anybody seriously believe they'll actually start us the week before Christmas?

They could have saved the ink and simply written "Get rekt, lol" on the letter in crayon for the same effect.

[S.P.F. 30]

This letter just makes a bad and uncertain situation worse.

Unfortunately, absent a full-throated and honest, but still civil, response from the ENTIRE May Class this week, their general indifference and disregard is more than likely going to continue. Yes, these are the textbook-definition of "uncertain times," but they have had enough time to at least develop a somewhat fluid plan and all signs point to that they have failed to even do that. If this is going to be the new normal, then plan for the worst and go with that doomsday plan, but at least HAVE A PLAN. We are the ones continuing to pay the price for their indecisive and callous attitude and it should be brought to their attention.

My current job was a stop-gap measure that I was fortunate enough to get in March after I had turned in my notice last spring to begin the transition for May. I will be unemployed right around the time they plan to release their "more detailed timeline." I have already conveyed this feedback to HR in a response to their recent '15 minutes to close of business' Friday letter. I received the pro forma 'I will pass your feedback along' response, but that is an improvement from the usual non-responsive static.

Yes, I worry about retaliation or the rescission of my offer, but at this point, until they actually start the on-boarding, I actually don't have the job to lose anyway. As it stands, I either have to start this in the Fall or I will have to likely abandon the offer to find new permanent employment anyway. No one is going to hire and train me with the understanding I will leave two-months after that, assuming I can even find a job by September. The March class got interrupted but, to the best of my knowledge, was still able to complete training and are currently on the job. There is no reason we cannot do the same.

To anyone else that decides to respond to the Office, please remember that the ones sending us these emails are only the messengers and not the decision-makers, so please do not unload on them. Our collective message, if any, will be lost if the gatekeepers decide to screen out rants. I will note that the HR director actually put her direct phone number on this letter instead of the generic main directory number that was on the March letter. That seems as good an invitation for feedback as any.

If there are other May-classers on this forum who wish to reach out (or seek confirmation that I had actually responded to HR and am not a troll-bot before sending their own response ), please DM me. Note if you are not a frequent poster on this thread, your DM might be disabled or delayed by a few days. I welcome the outreach just so I know there's other people out there in the same boat.

[Anonymous User]

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/uspto ... ess-92728/

looks like trademark revenues are down 10%, and delaying hiring is a major source of making up lost dollars. really sucks.

[Anonymous User]

Except their hiring funds and number of positions was already fixed for the year and allotted pursuant to budget. Even though the Office is primarily self-funded, that shouldn't be affected current downturns in fees collected.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/uspto ... ess-92728/

looks like trademark revenues are down 10%, and delaying hiring is a major source of making up lost dollars. really sucks.

[Anonymous User]

"Spending reductions also include delayed trademark and patent hiring due to anticipated revenue reductions, which are expected to result in an estimated savings of $14M."

This is a dollars and cents issue, not a social distancing one.

[Anonymous User]

Current examiner here. Dropped in to say that in addition to what has been posted, it is my understanding that a lot of improvement projects and so forth were put on hold because money had to be reallocated to support the shift and strain put on the systems when the majority of the office switched to teleworking. My guess is that it is likely impacting the budget across the board.

[Anonymous User]

$14M?! How many people are they keeping in Limbo? Or are they saying they intend to kick the can on us for the next 7 years?

"Spending reductions also include delayed trademark and patent hiring due to anticipated revenue reductions, which are expected to result in an estimated savings of $14M."

This is a dollars and cents issue, not a social distancing one.

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I was wondering if any fellow May (now December) classers would be interested in forming a closed Google group or similar closed forum so that we can chat without risking anonymity? I'd be happy to provide general feedback, just rant, or even strategize together regarding the fiasco we have been dealt with. I had initially considered this idea to help out potential applicants based on my experience, and may still do that in the future. Right now, however, the May class is in a crisis we need to connect and help each other out, or at least be able to speak freely about what we are going through.

Not a spy or a bot. Just an attorney who has way too much invested in this job offer, and I don't want to do anything to risk it. If interested in joining, email me at USPTOMay2020 [at] gmail [dot] [com] .

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for setting that group up. The letter throws my life into chaos as well, and may force me to withdraw. With the delay start date from May to October, I was graciously allowed to stay on at my firm until October. But I can’t ask again because they already hired my replacement. So I am also going to be out of a job for at least two months, which I honestly don’t know if I can afford. Never mind the obvious not starting two weeks before Christmas proposal.

If it were to get delayed again, or worse, revoked, how can I explain this delay on my resume? It’s much harder to get hired when you are not practicing vs when you are. While this is really been a “dream job” for me and I have hoped I can be at the PTO for life, I don’t know if I can rationally gamble with my career/stability/ability to pay rent on the prayer that a mid December is real.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone from the May class withdrawn from the position since that last update about "maybe" deferring to mid-December?

Current examiners who check this forum, is there any information you could pass along that you think would be helpful for those of us who got deferred and are waiting for the next update?

Genuinely appreciate any feedback.

[Anonymous User]

Current examiner here, is there information that you are interested in? I'm not sure how many members of management/people who would actually have answers browse this forum. Most examining attorneys probably don't have any information that is helpful in regards to the deferrals and such. I know I haven't really heard anything relevant, in fact, the information I have heard has always been on here.

That being said, while I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, the one possible good sign is that last quarter, the maximum bonus was reduced and this quarter, they reinstated the usual cap. Filings are still down, so that's obviously likely to have an impact as well.

[Anonymous User]

I heard a rumor that the mid-December email was inaccurate and the class will indeed start in October. I'm pretty confident in my source.

[Anonymous User]

yep, its happening in October.

[Colonials]

Alas! We have confirmation! WE WILL START IN OCTOBER!!!! HURRAH!

[Anonymous User]

On campus or virtual?

[Anonymous User]

They haven't confirmed one way or the other yet. For those who are currently at the USPTO - have there been any discussion of folks returning to the campus this fall or do you think you'll stay virtual for a while?

I'm so glad that the Oct date is looking like it's a go!! Looking forwards to meeting all of you in a couple of months

[Anonymous User]

the remote/virtual question is TBD. is there any clarity as to whether, generally speaking, the office is reopening soon?