U.S. patent office director to step down

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirmed its director, David Kappos, will leave his post at the end of January.

Previously the head of intellectual property at IBM, Kappos took over the agency in 2009. The White House has not announced who would take his place, the Hill newspaper reported Monday.

"He and his team have set the PTO on course to implement the key provisions of the [Leahy-Smith America Invents] Act, which will improve the patent system for decades to come," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who was behind the bill that changed the patent system from a "first to invent," system to a "first to file," system, the newspaper said.

Kappos was a strong supporter of the law that overhauled the patent system.

The act became law in 2011.