Why it Matters

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a session September 29 on Oversight Hearings To Examine The United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) to review its fee-setting authority with Director John A. Squires, who was the sole witness. The subcommittee also reviewed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) discretionary-denial policy.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Squires had not backed quality claims and demanded written answers on layoffs, remote-work cuts and quotas. Squires said he would keep discretionary denial authority while returning merits decisions to PTAB panels, reversing earlier centralization.

What They're Saying

Squires said there is no place for abuses but the issue gets complex. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) said, "It hasn't gotten complex, it's pretty simple," rejecting Squires' description of pharmaceutical patent disputes.

Squires said, "Examiners lead, tools support," describing the USPTO's philosophy on AI integration. Schiff said, "that's not really an answer," cut off discussion of the Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot Program (ASAP!) and asked for written quality metrics. Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) secured Squires' commitment on inventorship verification and faster issuance to combat AI scraping filings.

Political Stakes

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) presided over his final hearing as chair, using it to press eligibility reform and PTAB legislation. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) raised concerns about the stalled PTAB rule at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after receivingmore than 11,000 public comments, while Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) asked about filling Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committee vacancies for fee consultation.

The Bottom Line

No referral or bill emerged, with the record left open one week for written responses on quality metrics, Board of Peace filings and fee policy. The next step is congressional action before December 11 on whether to extend or condition USPTO fee-setting authority.

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