Since taking the helm at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), Director John A. Squires and Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart have dramatically changed the landscape of challenges made at the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB).  Since the enactment of the America Invents Act in 2012, the Office has been deluged with inter partes review (IPR) requests to challenge the validity of issued patents, some of which were granted a decade or more ago.  Indeed, parallel patent challenges in district court and perhaps multiple challenges in the PTAB have been the norm with few patents surviving – until now.  The Director has instituted a stringent discretionary review process for all IPR requests in line with the intent of the AIA to provide an alternate venue, not a supplementary one.

In this celebratory event (hosted by LES USA-Canada), the Director will talk about his tenure thus far, the measures he has taken, and the impacts of AI, as well as address the importance of innovation to the Founders and America from our beginnings until today