"John A. Squires was confirmed as USPTO Director on September 17, 2025. The Senate voted to confirm Squires using the "nuclear option" - although he received strong bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee (20-2). Squires is a longtime patent attorney with experience in many aspects of the IP system: prosecution, litigation, licensing and deals, management, etc. He has a chemistry background prior to law school, and also worked for many years in fintech - the same field as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick."
"In his written responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Squires laid out a broad vision of restoring the USPTO " to its rightful place atop the world as executor of our Nation's constitutional mandate and to boost America's ingenuity engine with the intellectual property that drives economic growth, technological progress, and global competitiveness." He expressed opposition to abusive "patent troll" tactics, describing them as "predatory arbitrage plays." He committed to transparency in foreign litigation funding while reiterating his belief in strong IP protections as an important aspect of US foreign trade policy."
John A. Squires was confirmed as USPTO Director on September 17, 2025, following a Senate vote that used the "nuclear option" despite strong Judiciary Committee support. Squires brings long experience as a patent attorney, a chemistry background, and fintech work experience. Core priorities include addressing the application backlog, improving patent quality through "Born Strong" patents, and reducing uncertainty under Section 101. He committed to using AI tools to improve examination quality and efficiency. He opposed abusive "patent troll" tactics, pledged transparency in foreign litigation funding, and emphasized strong IP protections within US foreign trade policy. Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart will become permanent Deputy Director.
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