The US Senate confirmed Kathi Vidal as the next USPTO Director on April 5, capping off more than a year in which the agency lacked a permanent head. Vidal, most recently a managing partner at Winston & Strawn’s Silicon Valley office, stands poised to take over as the USPTO faces ongoing debate over the policies of her predecessor Andrei Iancu—including a controversial policy that some stakeholders argue has unduly limited access to America Invents Act (AIA) reviews.