By Donald Zuhn —

On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office announced that USPTO
Director David Kappos (at right) has launched a new blog "to foster a direct dialogue with the USPTO's
stakeholders and the general public."  The blog, running under the heading "Director's Forum:
David Kappos' Public Blog," can be reached through a link on the USPTO
homepage or at www.uspto.gov/blog.  The Director's initial post is entitled
"Putting the USPTO to Work for Independent Inventors."

In explaining why he started the blog, Director Kappos noted that "[i]t's
important for me to be able to hear directly from the IP community, and that is
why we are establishing this open channel for sustained dialogue and the
exchange of ideas."  The
Director also said that he hoped the public would find the blog "to be a
useful vehicle for providing input to me directly and giving us the feedback we
need to be able to better serve our constituents and the American people."  According to the Office's press
release, "[t]he new blog is part of an extensive effort to reach out to
the IP community and actively engage USPTO stakeholders in an effort help to
the agency better serve the American public."