On February 6, USPTO updated the certification regarding the filing of anonymous requests for ex parte reexamination. ...more
On January 13, USPTO announced the design of SPARK, a new pilot program to incentivize meaningful participation by U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, universities, and non-profits in standards development organizations...more
2/6/2026
/ European Patent Office ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Nonprofits ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Prosecution Highway ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Small Business ,
Universities ,
USPTO ,
USPTO Pilot Program
On December 29, the USPTO announced launch of a Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) Working Group, reporting directly to USPTO Director John A. Squires. ...more
Robert Hayes assumed the role of Acting Chief AI Officer and Acting Chief Data Officer. He will continue to serve in his role as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the...more
12/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
New Guidance ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On October 17, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires issued an open letter with an attached memorandum explaining that effective October 20, 2025, the Director will assume responsibility for...more
11/5/2025
/ Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent Prosecution Highway ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
USPTO
USPTO Operations -
The USPTO remains fully operational during the government shutdown....more
On August 28, President Trump nullified via executive order the USPTO’s December 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which covers approximately 9,000 patent examiners and other professionals at the USPTO....more
9/4/2025
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Trademarks ,
Trump Administration ,
USPTO
On July 31, 2025, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Coke Morgan Stewart issued a memorandum indicating that the USPTO “will enforce and no longer waive the requirement of...more
8/5/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Final Rules ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
OECD ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Prior Art ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USPTO ,
Waivers ,
WIPO
On June 12, the nominee for USPTO Director John Squires was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 20-2. His nomination has been placed on the Senate’s Executive Calendar and will proceed to a floor vote....more
On May 27, the USPTO announced the completion of a critical upgrade to the agency’s core financial system, Momentum, to streamline maintenance of the fee payment systems as well as several internal functions....more
Welcome to Wilmer Hale's PTAB/USPTO Update for May 2025....more
On March 10, John Squires was officially nominated to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office....more
4/8/2025
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
New Legislation ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Portal ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
USPTO
On February 24, 2025 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that David Gooder would step down from his role as Commissioner for Trademarks at the end of the month....more
3/4/2025
/ America Invents Act ,
Apple ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Portal ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On January 20, the same day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Deputy Director of the United States...more
On the same day Donald Trump was sworn in as President, Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more
After stepping down as Director of the USPTO in mid-December, Kathi Vidal rejoined the litigation department at Winston & Strawn LLP. Derrick Brent, formerly Deputy Director, is currently Acting Director of the USPTO. It is...more
On November 12, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal announced in a post on LinkedIn and a letter to friends and colleagues that she would be stepping down the second week in December. Deputy Director Derrick Brent will take over until...more
12/3/2024
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Resignation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Directors ,
Fees ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
NPRM ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPS ,
USPTO
On October 21, the USPTO announced the appointment of Nancy U. Kamei as Chief Public Engagement Officer and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (OPE)....more
On October 2, the USPTO terminated proceedings in approximately 3,100 patent applications due to the fraudulent entry of S-signatures of registered practitioners by others. The final order noted that improper use of a...more
Last month, Director Kathi Vidal posted on her blog about global efforts to address climate change through sustainable innovation and about USPTO resources to support the military community....more
On July 7, the Senate passed a resolution “[r]ecognizing the importance of trademarks in the economy and the role of trademarks in protecting consumer safety, by designating the month of July as ‘National Anti-Counterfeiting...more
8/6/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Office ,
Counterfeiting ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The explosion of artificial intelligence has raised some challenging questions in patent law, particularly with prior art, or the body of knowledge available prior to the filing of patent application.
Two of the most...more
USPTO Leadership -
..On June 3, the USPTO announced the appointment of Derris Banks as Regional Director of the USPTO’s Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Office located in Detroit, Michigan....more
Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees, 89 FR 44634 (May 21, 2024) (“seeking nominations for up to three members of its Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) to advise the Director of the USPTO on patent policy,...more
On May 10, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes a rule regarding new requirements for terminal disclaimers filed to obviate nonstatutory...more