Squires should reject calls to weaken patent quality review; ensure that U.S. companies can continue to seek relief at Patent Trial and Appeal Board
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Manufacturers Association for Development and Enterprise (US-MADE), the leading national organization protecting American manufacturers against abusive patent litigation, congratulated President Trump today on nominating a new Patent Director, John A. Squires, and urged the administration to take swift steps to protect U.S. manufacturers from abusive lawsuits backed by litigation investors, which rely on low-quality patents to pursue runaway verdicts against productive companies.
“Every day, President Trump is making good on his campaign promises. Thanks to his bold leadership, we are finally putting American manufacturers first. As President Trump’s new Patent Director, John Squires has the opportunity to build on the administration’s success and help usher in a new golden age of manufacturing,” said David Crane, Executive Director of US-MADE. “In order to do that, Director-nominee Squires must make clear to the U.S. Senate that he will reject calls to weaken patent validity review provided by the administrative patent judges (APJs) who serve on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Their work, and access to the PTAB, is essential for stopping bad-faith actors from weaponizing low-quality patents in our courts. Undermining the PTAB would be a windfall for overseas competitors and for litigation investors who want to serve their own agendas rather than President Trump’s.”
“Let’s be clear,” Crane continued. “Undisclosed litigation investment, particularly in intellectual property matters, is a threat to American industry and a threat to President Trump’s America First agenda. It’s time we put American manufacturers first, and we look forward to working with Director Squires and his team to make this goal a reality.”
The new Director will inherit an intellectual property system under threat from non-practicing entities (NPEs), which acquire low-quality patents and leverage them against American businesses in drawn-out and expensive litigation. In recent years, NPEs have been responsible for roughly 60% of all patent-related lawsuits as investment entities, foreign and domestic, have committed massive resources to backing patent lawsuits.
NPE abuse of our patent system undermines American national and economic security as foreign actors target strategically critical industries to burden U.S. companies with new costs, slow innovation and the commercialization of new products, and even potentially gain access to sensitive innovation. A December report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted that countries like China and Saudi Arabia have been backing patent litigation against American companies in U.S. courts. This echoes concerns expressed by stakeholders ranging from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, to a coalition of state attorneys general, to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Anonymous funding of intellectual property lawsuits threatens American innovation at a time when overseas companies like the Chinese-based telecommunications giant Huawei have become leading recipients of U.S. patents.
Director-nominee Squires’ professional background includes deep ties to litigation investment entities. Squires must not allow litigation investors to further influence and distort the U.S. intellectual property system.
In order for the U.S. to remain competitive on the global stage, the USPTO must play the crucial role of maintaining high and consistent standards for patent quality, while reducing the harmful impact of low-quality patents. Doing so requires robust review standards during initial patent application examinations and for the agency to be able to efficiently and cost-effectively correct its own errors when disputes arise, preventing waste, eliminating unearned monopolies, and providing U.S. inventors with reliable intellectual property protection.
If confirmed, Squires must continue the work of ensuring that only useful, novel, and non-obvious patents are granted, while preventing vague and overly-broad patents from being weaponized against U.S. inventors and industry. US-MADE has long advocated strengthening the review processes which makes this possible and looks forward to collaborating with the next Director to enhance these protections.
US-MADE appreciates Squires’s career of service to the U.S. innovation economy and looks forward to working with Squires on the full range of policies that will allow the USPTO to fulfill its mission of driving U.S. innovation and global competitiveness. In doing so, the agency can help American businesses continue to invest in our communities, create good-paying jobs, and develop the technologies which make our country stronger and safer.