Senate IP Subcommittee Focuses on Fee-Setting, PTAB Rule in USPTO Oversight Hearing

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires faced the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, in an oversight hearing pressing for more information on several of the policy changes his administration has put in place, Eileen McDermott reported for IPWatchdog the same day. The hearing was the last over which the subcommittee's current chairman, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), will preside. Squires, the sole witness, touted progress on the application backlog, which in April had fallen from a January 2025 high of 837,928 unexamined applications to 776,995 and now stands at 756,110: 'for the first time in 10 years, output exceeds intake and we've achieved a three-year low on the backlog.'

Several members questioned Squires on the status of the October 2025 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled 'Revision to Rules of Practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.' Squires said more than 11,000 comments were received, 2,800 of them unique, and that the rule is now sitting at the Office of Management and Budget following USPTO vetting. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Chris Coons (D-DE) urged action on the rule but agreed a legislative — and therefore permanent — solution would be preferable; the PREVAIL Act, which would address many of the same issues, has been stalled in Congress along with the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA).

Much of the hearing focused on the USPTO's need for fee-setting authority, which currently expires on December 12 following a short continuing-resolution extension. The House IP subcommittee held its own hearing earlier in September at which Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) expressed skepticism about Squires' changes to PTAB discretionary denial practice and wondered whether renewal under the America Invents Act should be conditioned on reforms. Confirming earlier IPWatchdog reporting, Squires told Coons that on institution decisions 'what we're considering doing is, I would maintain the discretionary portion of it and return the merits portion to the panels' — backtracking on his October 2025 memo centralizing all institution decisions in the Director's office. Coons also pressed Squires on continued vacancies on the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees, which Squires said will be filled soon.

Other senators raised examination quality, workforce conditions and the Office's growing use of artificial intelligence. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) warned that China now leads in 57 of 64 critical technologies, versus U.S. leadership in 60 of 64 during 2003-2007, and asked how innovators can get prompt consideration of filings; Squires pointed to the AI Search Automated Pilot Program (ASAP!) announced in October 2025 and said the agency is exploring AI-based pre-application services to flag formalities defects. Pressed by Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) on the USPTO's filing of 'Board of Peace' trademark applications on behalf of President Trump, Squires repeated his earlier justification under 35 U.S.C. Sections 2 and 3; Schiff asked him to provide the explanation in writing.

Original Link: https://ipwatchdog.com/2026/09/29/senate-ip-subcommittee-focuses-on-fee-setting-ptab-rule-in-uspto-oversight-hearing/