17 Nov 2014
Professor Sheppard helps draft Congressional testimony and will attend a U.S. Congress joint hearing by the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform
The Public Patent Advisory Committee on which Professor Sheppard is lead on finance and budget issues was called to testify before a rare joint hearing by the United States House of Representatives Committee of the Judiciary and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The hearing, to take place Tuesday November, 18th at 1:30 EST, will explore allegations of USPTO employee abuse of government telework programs that was initially brought to light by the Washington Post and subsequently covered by most major news networks. The hearing will not only explore the action of the USPTO employees but will call into question the effectiveness of telecommuting programs in regards of oversight of employees, accountability to the agency and quality of workproduct.
PPAC, on which Dr. Sheppard is serving her third year, was created by Congress to oversee the management of and advise the leadership of the USPTO. Dr Sheppard is one of nine citizens chosen by the US Secretary of Commerce to fulfill this role to review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the USPTO and advise the director on these matters.
http://judiciary.house.gov/index.cfm/2014/11/joint-hearing-abuse-of-the-uspto