Former Google executive to run U.S. patent office

Former Google executive Michelle Lee has been named deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and will run the agency until a new director is named.

Lee is a former deputy general counsel and head of patents and patent strategy at Google. Currently head of the US patent office's Silicon Valley outpost, Lee begins her new job on January 13. Lee said she planned to attack the backlog of unexamined patents and work to improve patent quality, an issue at the center of the ongoing debate over frivolous infringement lawsuits.