I used to work on campus but now work from home due to mandatory teleworking.
Do you have any hobbies or activities that you are passionate about? Can you briefly share it with us?
COVID-19 has impacted my life in many different ways. Now I enjoy golfing, camping, playing Go, Korean Chess, jigsaw puzzles and watching YouTube.
Favorite book or movie:
The Departed (2006)
Favorite restaurant or food:
Pho75 @ Rosslyn, VA
Sushi Yoshi @ Vienna, VA
The Prime Rib @ 2020 K St NW, Washington, DC 20006
Totto Ramen @ NY
Favorite weekend activities:
Camping. I never imagined myself as a camper, but I went camping three times since the pandemic started and loved it!
Any new skillset you’ve picked up during this pandemic?
Grilling. After the COVID-19 outbreak, I bought a griddle and started grilling pork belly and making fried rice. My next goal is making a smash burger.
What is your motto?
Be positive.
Shout out to other KAIPO members close to you (any messages you want to send to other member(s)):
Thank you all for your support and contribution during this pandemic.
Any words of encouragement you want to share with the members during the pandemic?
Happiness is not about what I have but about how I think.
1) Not having to spend hours on commute; 2) Much greater options for lunch; 3) Not having to worry about what to wear every day.
Do you have any hobbies or activities that you are passionate about? Can you briefly share it with us?
I recently got into woodworking. I make furniture and other wooden items such as cutting boards in my small garage. It is a very rewarding hobby that you make things with your own hands. As examiners we mostly deal with conceptual stuff and we rarely get to have any hands-on experience. Making something tangible is definitely fun and when your project is finished, you get the sense of accomplishment you won’t get from examining.
How did you learn/start woodworking?
I learned mostly through YouTube. There are a lot of good tutorials on YouTube. My first project was a really simple bookshelf that didn’t require a lot of tools other than a simple power drill. It’s still holding strong.
Favorite book or movie:
This isn’t really a book or a movie but Nier: Automata is the most beautiful story-based video game I played in the past 20 years. The game play is rather mediocre in my opinion but the story telling and cinematics are second to none. If it has to be a book or movie, Inception by Christopher Nolan.
On April 14, 2020, the KAIPO Newsletter Team announced KAIPO’s first contest: KAIPO Newsletter Naming Contest. A total of 18 names were submitted over the two month period, and the Newsletter Team had a tough time narrowing down to one name. In particular, the Newsletter Team struggled to choose between the following two names, each with a thoughtful meaning:
Konnect – Submitted by James Lee
“One of our missions as an organization is to foster engagement between people and to connect them to the Office. As we have more than 80% of the patent corps working remotely from home and almost all employees working from home during the pandemic, it has become more important that we konnect with each other and stay konnected with the changes going on at the Office.”
Kurrent – Submitted by Inja Song
“한류, 흐름, 소통, 현재의 흐름, 뭐 이런 것들을 생각하다가 이공계 전공자에게는 익숙한 단어 current 를 떠올렸고, 첫 글자 C를 K로 바꿔 Korea를 의미하도록 하면 어떨까 생각했습니다. Current 는 그 외에 신문에 어울린 만한 뜻을 갖고 있으니 중의적으로도 어울릴 듯 합니다.”
Since the new name could not be decided by the Newsletter Team, all KAIPO Officers got involved and voted! And as many of you may have noticed, the majority of KAIPO Officers voted for Konnect, and the newsletter has been renamed as Konnect beginning June 30, 2020.
Congratulations, James, in winning the naming contest! Also, a huge thank you to Inja and other KAIPO members for their submissions!
James J. Lee is KAIPO’s Secretary in 2020, and a new SPE in TC3600.
James Lee (second from left) with Director Andrei Iancu, Commissioner Drew Hirshfeld, and President of AIPLA Sheldon Klein at 2019 AIPLA Award Ceremony.
Q: Tell us about your background. (i.e., Where is your hometown? If you immigrated to the US, how were your first several years in the US?)
I have a unique background in that I have moved between countries and across different states almost every four to five years since I was born. My birthplace is New Jersey which is where my father was working overseas at the time. My family moved back to Korea when I was about four years old and I spent most of my youth in Korea. Seoul is where I still consider to be my hometown and I try to visit every year. When I was about to enter my Middle school in Korea our family had yet another opportunity to live in another country, and our destination at that time was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have great memories living in foreign country and especially befriending international students from all around the world. After four years in Kuala Lumpur, my parents moved back to Korea once again, but this time I decided to study abroad in United States with the support of my family. I moved to Connecticut for High school, New York for college, and then to Rhode Island and Massachusetts for my first job out of college. I am currently living in Northern Virginia with a family of my own.
Q: How did you learn about the patent examining career at the USPTO? When did you begin your career at the USPTO?
I started my career at the USPTO in July 2012. Prior to that I was an engineer at Raytheon in the Greater Boston area. I remember chatting with a senior engineer in the lab and asking him about the patent plaque he had on his office wall. Many months after that conversation, I randomly googled “patent” and learned about USPTO and the career as a patent examiner. Living near the capital of United States was on my bucket list at the time and I was intrigued by the four months training offered by the Patent Training Academy so I decided to apply and give it a go.
Q: What opportunities or experiences enriched your career as a Junior or Primary Examiner? How did they help?
As a junior examiner, I wanted to help out the Art Unit and at the same time do something in addition to examining patents. My supervisor gave me an opportunity to serve as a classifier for my Art Unit and review the USPC symbol put on applications by the contractors prior to the applications being docketed to the examiners. Over time, I got to initiate and respond to transfer inquiries and also had multiple opportunities to coach other classifiers. The experience I gained from these opportunities led me to work on the CPC Cross Walk project in 2015 and I assisted my Art Unit as a CPC Quality Nominee ever since. After becoming a primary examiner in 2017, I served on a detail to the Office of International Cooperation as a Classification Quality Specialist and had a unique chance to meet delegates from IP5 Offices and also travel to Korea to give training to a group of examiners and contractors at KIPO. Looking back, it is quite amazing to see what how a small contribution I made as a junior examiner has led me to an opportunity to engage with the international IP community.
Q: Congratulations on recently becoming a SPE! What inspired you to become a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE)?
Thank you! I am very excited and I feel very fortunate to be serving as a SPE. Quite frankly, I did not have a particular goal set in mind to become a supervisor when I was a junior examiner or even when I became a primary examiner. My number one goal has always been to stay engaged with the changes going on at the Office and to stay connected with the people. These two goals seem to have aligned well with the duties and responsibilities of a supervisor and I naturally gravitated towards pursuing related roles such as Training Assistant or GS-14 Trainer to gain experience working with the people. I enjoyed developing people professionally and more importantly establishing good working relationships and trust while doing so. I felt that I was ready to pursue the next step at the time and I am glad that I took the leap.
Q: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for fellow Examiners who seek to grow professionally and advance in their career?
There will be times when small or big opportunities come your way during your career at the Office. Always be ready to seize those opportunities and rise to the occasion. Stepping out of your comfort zone and taking up the challenges that are of unfamiliar ground to you will help you expand your boundaries and gain new perspectives. But most importantly, have a positive mindset and enjoy the experience!
Q: What does KAIPO mean to you?
KAIPO is very special to me because it was found on the basis of the common mission, vision, and value I shared with the leaders of KAIPO. We all envisioned KAIPO serving as a community where people can connect, share ideas, have fun and grow together as professionals. I see great potentials in what the members can gain from KAIPO and more importantly how the members can serve and help others through KAIPO. I hope we can all share the excitement and anticipation for the legacy that we are carrying and passing on to the next generation of leaders and members of KAIPO.
Q: What is something that the KAIPO members may not know about you?
Instead of giving it away here, let’s get connected and get to know each other. That’s what KAIPO is all about! We will be introducing an online platform and offering virtual events throughout the year so come join us and get to know our members.
