"This year was punctuated by a structural reset for the U.S. patent system. What unfolded was not just incremental reform, but a coordinated shift driven by leadership change, policy realignment, economic pressure, and accelerating adoption of AI-all converging to reshape how patents are examined, challenged, monetized, and managed. This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed I am joined by Fran Cruz, Senior Vice President of IP Solutions at Juristat, who will be joining us periodically as a co-host as we move into 2026."
"Administrative patent reform started early with the nomination and confirmation of Howard Lutnick as the Secretary of Commerce, and right out of the gate hiring Coke Stewart as Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which put her in position to become Acting Director for the first 8 months of the Trump Administration. Secretary Lutnick clearly gave then Acting Director Stewart marching orders to reform the agency in ways generally only seen after a confirmed Director takes the helm,"
2025 brought a structural reset of the U.S. patent system driven by leadership change, policy realignment, economic pressure, and accelerating AI adoption. New White House appointments altered the patent policy landscape and catalyzed administrative reform. Nomination and confirmation of Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce and the appointment of Coke Stewart as Deputy Director of the USPTO enabled early agency reforms. Stewart served as Acting Director for the first eight months of the administration and received explicit mandates to reform agency operations. The confirmation of John Squires as USPTO Director on September 18, 2025 finalized leadership transitions. The combined actions aimed to reduce backlog and reshape patent processes and monetization.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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