by Dennis Crouch
President Trump has formally nominated John A. Squires to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The White House announced the nomination on Tuesday, and the Senate received it on Monday, March 10, referring it to the Committee on the Judiciary. The nomination confirms reporting by Dani Kass at Law360 from mid-February that identified Squires as the likely pick.
Squires currently serves as a partner at Dilworth Paxson LLP and brings substantial intellectual property experience to the role, including a nine-year tenure as Chief IP Counsel at Goldman Sachs (2000-2009). He has particularly focused on emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and cybersecurity. In addition though, Squires holds chemistry degree from Bucknell. According to reports, Squires beat out several other candidates for the role, including acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart; Intel’s intellectual property policy leader Vishal Amin (who served as IP czar during Trump’s first administration); former chief counsel for the Senate subcommittee on IP under Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) Brad Watts; and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP partner Bill Atkins.
The nomination aligns Squires with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was confirmed by the Senate in February. Both men share backgrounds in financial technology and patent development. Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is himself named as an inventor on hundreds of patents in the business methods and financial services sector.
Director Kathi Vidal left the position on December 13, 2024, and has since returned her prior law firm, Winston & Strawn. Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as Deputy Director on January 20 and immediately assumed acting director duties. Upon Squires’ confirmation, Stewart will likely continue in her role as Deputy Director.
The USPTO Director position requires Senate confirmation under 35 U.S.C. § 3(a)(1), which mandates that the appointee be a U.S. citizen with professional background and proven ability in patent or trademark law. Squires’ extensive experience, including his IP-focused work at Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, and multiple law firms, will easily satisfy these requirements. And I expect that he will be easily confirmed by the Republican led Senate.
Squires has not made any public statements about his intended direction as USPTO Director. I expect some of the following focus, while also contending with the broader White House agenda of eliminating outreach to historically disadvantaged groups, reducing the number of federal employees, and shrinking federal real estate footprint:
- Expanding patent eligibility, particularly for software and financial technology innovations
- Creating a more efficient examination process, potentially through expanded use of AI tools
- Addressing the patent application backlog
- Making the patent system more accessible to startups and small businesses
- Strengthening connections between intellectual property protection and national security
Senate confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled.