Second Letter Re Squires Nomination — Please Confirm Him ASAP!!
To restore political accountability to the USPTO
I just sent off my second open letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Squires Nomination. This one makes it clear that I haven’t changed my position on Mr. Squires’s suitability for the position, but asks that they push for confirmation ASAP to restore political accountability to the USPTO.
It also asks them to try to pin him down as to whether he supports what’s been going on before confirming him.
If you think about it, there’s simply no way a politically accountable Director would have done what USPTO’s acting leadership has been doing. As the letter points out, just about every single member at the April 2023 Oversight Hearing had serious concerns that the USPTO was usurping Congress’s authority with the discretionary denial ANPRM. (Key quotes are collected here and here.) And sure enough, the USPTO watered down the eventual NPRM to take that (and comments from the public) into account. And even then, we couldn’t get the NPRM out.
Here’s the letter (8 pages):
And here’s the Executive Summary I sent along with it:
Executive Summary
Background
The USPTO is currently run by unconfirmed “acting” officials who are not accountable to Congress. Under their tenure, the Office has:
Blocked review of questionable patents using new “settled expectations” rules.
Applied these rules retroactively, raising serious due process concerns.
Destabilized the PTAB, de-motivated examiners, and dismantled the Patent Public Advisory Committee.
Adopted policies that drive up drug prices, undermine U.S. manufacturing, and contradict the Administration’s stated goals.
Key Concerns
These actions are inflating the value of weak patents and transferring billions of dollars to patent monetizers and large drug companies. Patients, consumers, innovators, and manufacturers are paying the price. Four mandamus petitions are already pending at the Federal Circuit, with more expected.
Recommendations
Unaccountable acting leadership is the worst option. The USPTO needs a Senate confirmed Director who can be called to testify, questioned, and held responsible. Confirmation, however, should not be a blank check. The Senate has two clear paths:
Before confirmation: require Mr. Squires to state clearly whether he will reverse these damaging policies.
After confirmation: if confirmed without such assurances, call him immediately before Congress to explain his position and hold him accountable for the consequences to innovation and the U.S. economy.