Authored by: Michael S. DeVincenzo, Charles Wizenfeld, Andrea Pacelli and Li Zhaocheng
At the IP Dealmakers conference in November 2025, we had the pleasure of hearing a keynote address by John Squires, the newly appointed Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Director Squires’s address was as impactful as his policies. In October 2025, he announced sweeping policy changes that dramatically restrict access to inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Since then, IPR institution rate has plummeted to just 4%, with 101 of 105 petitions denied through early December. These changes represent the most significant curtailment of post-grant review since the America Invents Act created the IPR system in 2011.