"The USPTO has quietly rolled out substantial changes to its examiner Performance Appraisal Plan (PAP) for FY2026. PAP is the formal framework the USPTO uses to measure, evaluate, and rate patent examiners' job performance."
"These changes are made easier because of last month's elimination of union rights of patent examiners (POPA) based upon their presidentially declared national security role. However, this post is based upon discussions with examiners because the USPTO has not released documents regarding the plan."
The USPTO implemented substantial changes to the Performance Appraisal Plan (PAP) for FY2026. The PAP is the formal framework used to measure, evaluate, and rate patent examiners' job performance. The elimination of patent examiners' union rights (POPA) under a presidential national security designation facilitated implementation of the changes. No official PAP documents have been released by the USPTO. Available details originate from patent examiners. A few notable changes have been reported, but specific elements of the revised plan remain undisclosed publicly.
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