A Legacy Worth Leaving: Director Squires Can Leave the U.S. Patent System Much Stronger Than He Found It

Every U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director leaves office. Very few leave a legacy that could fundamentally change the future of American innovation. Director John A. Squires has an extraordinary opportunity to do just that.

For more than a decade, independent inventors, startups, small businesses, universities, and those investing in American innovation have asked Congress to address the unintended consequences of the America Invents Act (AIA) and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Congress held hearings. Members acknowledged the problems. Legislation was introduced. Organizations rallied behind reform. Year after year, inventors traveled to Washington, told their stories, and pleaded for meaningful change. And year after year, the problems remained.

Then came Director Squires.

Rather than waiting for Congress to act, he began using the authority entrusted to the USPTO Director to restore fairness, predictability, and confidence in American patent rights. For inventors, startups, universities, small businesses, and investors, this was more than another policy announcement. It was a turning point.

At the 4th Annual US Inventor Conference, Director Squires reminded us of the extraordinary power of strong patent rights through the story of Alexander Graham Bell. After describing how Bell’s patent helped protect his invention, attract investment, and build an industry, Squires challenged the audience: “Imagine that today. Let’s make that a reality.”

For those of us who have spent more than a decade fighting to restore meaningful patent rights, those words carried enormous significance. Director Squires understands that American inventors and startups need more than patents issued on paper. They need a patent system that stands behind the rights it grants.

For the first time in years, someone had the courage to stop kicking the can down the road and make meaningful change. That is how legacies are made.

And what happened when Director Squires began exercising greater discretion over whether to institute inter partes review (IPR) proceedings? The disaster that critics warned would follow has not materialized. Patent litigation has not exploded as predicted. Other avenues for challenging patent validity remain available. The argument that broad access to the PTAB is indispensable is being tested against reality.

Director Squires has demonstrated that protecting patent owners from repeated challenges does not mean abandoning patent quality. It means restoring balance. And he has doubled down on that commitment.

His proposed rulemaking to reform the PTAB would turn important protections against repeated and duplicative patent challenges into a more durable framework—one designed to survive changes in USPTO leadership.

For more than a decade, Congress and numerous organizations have argued about what was needed to rein in the PTAB’s unintended consequences. Director Squires has shown that real leadership does not have to wait.

US Inventor is politically neutral. Our mission does not change with elections, administrations, or political parties. We stand for American inventors and startups, strong patent rights, and the constitutional promise that encourages innovation, investment, manufacturing, and job creation.

Now comes the moment that will determine whether the changes made by Director Squires will become a lasting legacy or disappear with the next Director. He has proposed a rule that would increase fairness at the PTAB and the only remaining hurdle is Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review. Some of the key proposals are:

• A patent that has already been validated in another forum like International Trade Commission, District Court or the PTAB could not be instituted into a PTAB trial.
• A patent in litigation that will likely have a validity determination prior to such a determination from a PTAB proceeding could not be instituted into a PTAB trial.
• If a patent were instituted, the challenger would have to stipulate that patent validity would not be challenged elsewhere.
• Only under extraordinary circumstances would the Director allow PTAB institution when the requirements above are met.

Director Squires has already changed the direction of the American patent system, but his greatest achievement lies ahead. If the proposed rule gets enacted, Director Squires can ensure that many of the reforms he championed become part of the USPTO’s governing regulations, not merely policies that disappear when leadership changes. That is how meaningful reform becomes a lasting legacy.

For more than a decade, USPTO Directors have inherited a patent system struggling with the consequences of the PTAB. Director Squires has the opportunity to be remembered as the first to fundamentally change that trajectory and leave behind lasting protections for the inventors and startups who depend on American patents.

Imagine that legacy: the Director who accomplished what Congress debated for years. The Director who restored confidence where uncertainty had taken hold. The Director who did not simply manage the patent system he inherited, but had the courage to leave it stronger than he found it.

John A. Squires has the opportunity to be remembered as the USPTO Director who changed the course of American patent history. That is a legacy worth leaving.