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Report File
Date Issued
Submitting OIG
Department of Commerce OIG
Agencies Reviewed/Investigated
Department of Commerce
Components
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Report Number
OIG-25-018-A
Report Description

Our audit objective was to determine whether USPTO had an effective governance structure and processes in place to manage its AI tools. To meet our objective, we tested two of the six AI tools USPTO had in use when we began our audit. 

Overall, we found that USPTO has begun developing its AI workforce but should strengthen key organizational and system-level governance practices needed to effectively manage and oversee its AI tools. Specifically, USPTO:

  • Has a governance structure that defines roles and responsibilities for key personnel, but should improve internal stakeholder involvement
  • Should promote transparency on its AI tools to external stakeholders
  • Does not have the specific, measurable objectives needed to define system success 
  • Did not trace requirements or technical specifications to system objectives
  • Does not have an AI-specific risk management plan

Together, these weaknesses increase the risk that USPTO will develop unreliable, untrustworthy AI systems. 
 

Report Type
Audit
Agency Wide
Yes
Number of Recommendations
5
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
Report updated under NDAA 5274
No
External Entity
Software Engineering Institute; Project Management Institute
External Link
https://www.oig.doc.gov/reports/?entry=30649

Open Recommendations

This report has 5 open recommendations.
Recommendation Number Significant Recommendation Recommended Questioned Costs Recommended Funds for Better Use Additional Details
1. Yes $0 $0

1. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director direct the Commissioner for Patents and the Chief Information Officer to revise policies and practices to ensure that future AI systems develop measurable objectives and system success criteria during project planning and ensure that such objectives trace to system specifications.

2. Yes $0 $0

2. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director direct the Commissioner for Patents and the Chief Information Officer to develop clear, specific, and measurable objectives and system success criteria for the CPC-related and patent search AI tools.

3. Yes $0 $0

3. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director direct the Commissioner for Patents and the Chief Information Officer to revise project management policies and practices to encourage increased engagement, as appropriate, with end users and others affected by the system, such as the public, earlier in the project lifecycle.

4. Yes $0 $0

4. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director direct the Commissioner for Patents and the Chief Information Officer to create an AI-specific risk management plan (or revise existing policies and procedures to reflect the same) that requires a system-specific risk management approach, including identifying, documenting, analyzing, and managing risks.

5. Yes $0 $0

5. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director direct the Commissioner for Patents and the Chief Information Officer to implement AI-specific risk management practices for the next-generation CPC AI tool and the patent search AI tool.

Department of Commerce OIG

United States