According to recent coverage, new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Director John A. Squires has signaled a new approach that leaves room for more AI-based inventions while also exploring AI as a tool for attempting to improve examination and chip away at the Office’s backlog.

His remarks align with the August 4, 2025 §101 memo reminding examiners not to over-apply the “mental process” category, to evaluate claims “as a whole,” and to credit concrete technological improvements where warranted — points called out specifically for AI/ML (machine learning).

USPTO Launches AI-Powered Search Pilot

On the tools front, the USPTO has launched an Automated Search Pilot that uses an internal AI system to surface and rank prior art for applicants and examiners. The initiative is positioned as one more lever to reduce pendency.

Operational Shifts and Workforce Impacts

These policy moves arrive alongside sweeping operational shifts. The agency has limited examiner interview time and is revising production and docketing, changes that reportedly may make it harder to hit counts.

At the workforce level, an executive order excluded the USPTO Patents unit from collective-bargaining coverage, effectively ending Patent Office Professional Association (“POPA”) representation. Government-wide “return-to-office” directives have also curtailed regular telework. The USPTO has additionally closed its Denver regional office and is rethinking its regional footprint.

Historically, the Office recruited technologists with union-protected telework and the ability to live in lower-cost markets. Raising production expectations while tightening interviews and telework may hinder training and retention, especially for new examiners within their probationary period, who take time to reach full efficiency.

PTAB Changes Raise Questions

At the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), parallel proposals and interim practices would significantly narrow when Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”) can be instituted (for example, after earlier validity adjudications). Academics led by Mark Lemley allege that these changes are unlawful under the America Invents Act and effectively eliminate PTAB proceedings. Opinions about the PTAB have long been mixed, with some viewing it as a “patent killer” and others seeing it as a critical check on poor examination quality and a cost-effective way to invalidate patents without the overhead of district court trials.

Key Takeaway

There are certainly a lot of changes, and a well-trained examiner corps has been the USPTO’s backbone for years. Only time will tell whether these shifts improve examination quality. For now, the practical takeaway is that the Office is trying to open the door for AI-related innovations to be patentable while piloting AI tools to help examiners work down the backlog.

Matt Miller, Taylor Dunne, and Devin Ricci are members of Kean Miller’s Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation groups, helping businesses, inventors, and creative professionals protect, enforce, and maximize the value of their intellectual property. They provide strategic guidance to publicly traded companies and major manufacturers in all phases of patent litigation and across a variety of industries.