Squires Signs First Patents, Signals Commitment to Keep Emerging Technologies Eligible

Source: USPTO

John Squires was officially sworn in as the 60^th U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director on Tuesday, September 23, and today issued the first patents of his term, both in technology sectors that often face increased scrutiny about patent eligibility during patent prosecution and in the courts.

The two issued patents were directed to distributed ledger/crypto and medical diagnostics technologies.

Squires was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last Thursday as part of an en bloc vote on 48 pending Trump nominees. The 48 confirmations were made by a vote of 51-47.

During his confirmation hearing in May, Squires emphasized his goal of making patents strong up front. Since then, Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart has taken a number of measures that many feel are patent owner-friendly and aimed at restoring quiet title to patents. She called it a “level-setting” herself at last week’s IPWatchdog Women’s IP Forum.

In his remarks during the patent signing today, Squires underscored his commitment to granting patents on “applied technologies,” including those that have been “too often dismissed as ‘mere business methods’ or ‘ineligible diagnostic practices.’”

He used the example of Samuel Morse’s telegraph patent, which was granted in 1840. “Claim 5 of that patent was upheld by the Supreme Court as patent eligible in light of claim 8 being abstract,” Squires said. “It reminds us that applied technologies are foundational and form the backbone of America’s growth.”

The signing ceremony came one day after Squires was sworn in by Judge Ryan T. Holte, with Stewart resuming her post as Deputy Director. Squires credited Stewart with getting the agency “back on our front foot.”

He particularly emphasized his belief in “a strong, robust, expansive, and resilient intellectual property system—and everything that goes with it.” As part of that, he reiterated his commitment to upgrading the tools examiners have for vetting patents up front. “You should have the best tools for every case of first impression because that’s when they’re needed most, that’s when they matter most,” he said.

Squires has also signaled his goal of analyzing Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) trends “to better understand why IPRs have the types of numbers reported while PGRs seem less preferred; why prior art was missed in cases of invalidation and if that art is making it back to the art unit post disposition to address issues on the front end; and why industry appears to be under-utilizing third party submissions and what can be done to address this issue; among other issues.”

His remarks today concluded with an appeal to inventors and entrepreneurs in particular, who he wants “to know that the USPTO is open for business—especially for the technologies of tomorrow.”