Jason Lawrence and the USPTO Patent Examination Center (PEC) team are being honored in Category 4: Using Innovative Technologies to Deliver Simple, Seamless, and Secure Services for transforming the patent examination process through artificial intelligence and cloud modernization. Facing a historic backlog of 838,000 unexamined patent applications, Jason led efforts to equip more than 9,000 patent examiners with modern technology that improves the speed, accuracy, and quality of patent reviews.

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Central to this transformation was the Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!), an AI-powered tool that helps examiners conduct more efficient and accurate prior art searches. Jason also oversaw the transition from aging mainframe technology to a modern, cloud-native infrastructure, enabling the retirement of 17 legacy applications and creating more streamlined workflows for examiners.

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The results have been significant. In just six months, the USPTO reduced its patent backlog by 50,000 applications, the largest reduction in a decade, while improving examiner productivity and supporting higher-quality patent decisions. The cloud transition also reduced operational costs and energy consumption. By combining AI with modern infrastructure, Jason and the PEC team are delivering a faster, more reliable patent process that better serves inventors and businesses while strengthening the U.S. innovation economy.