USPTO's Acting Leader Steers Back to Private Sector Amid Backlog Battle

Deputy USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart, who also served as Acting USPTO Director since January 2025, informed staff she will depart the agency by week’s end to return to the private sector. Stewart is credited with aggressive backlog reduction and patent-policy shifts, including PTAB workload management and the ‘settled expectations’ doctrine, as she led the agency through a pandemic-era staffing and workload crisis. Her prior experience spans USPTO leadership roles, Virginia’s Deputy Attorney General, and private practice at O’Melveny & Myers. A successor has not been announced.