"The USPTO continues to move quickly with sweeping changes to its popular inter partes review (IPR) process. On October 17, 2025, the agency announced that Director John Squires is reclaiming personal authority over all IPR and PGR institution decisions. In an "Open Letter" titled " Bringing the USPTO Back to the Future," Director Squires announced that effective October 20, 2025, he will personally determine whether to institute trial proceedings rather than delegating this function to PTAB panels."
"The announcement came on the same day that the agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to create mandatory bars to IPR institution in multiple categories. These actions follow a rapid ramping-up of discretionary denials over the past nine months under President Trump. Together, these developments represent a coordinated effort to dramatically restrict access to IPRs in ways that favor patent owners under the banner of restoring "quiet title" to issued patents."
Effective October 20, 2025, the USPTO will centralize institution authority and personally determine whether to institute IPR and PGR trials rather than delegating that function to PTAB panels. The agency simultaneously published a notice of proposed rulemaking to create mandatory bars to IPR institution across multiple categories. These moves follow a rapid ramping-up of discretionary denials over the prior nine months under the current administration. The combined measures will significantly restrict access to IPRs and shift advantages toward patent owners under the banner of restoring "quiet title" to issued patents. A substantial downturn in IPR petition filings is expected in the coming months.
Read at Patently-O
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