“Squires and Stewart’s Patent Office, By the Numbers” (featured quotes)

In a Law360 analysis examining early trends at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under Director John Squires and Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart, Marshall Gerstein Partner and patent attorney Matt Carey weighs in on how patent validity challenges may be shifting in response to recent leadership and policy signals. 

Matt points to ex parte reexaminations as an area to watch, noting that while patent challenges are inevitable, the forums in which they occur are evolving. 

“The validity disputes aren’t going away,” Matt said in an interview. “They’re just being relocated.”

As some practitioners question whether inter partes reviews (IPRs) are becoming a less favorable path for challengers, early data appear to support that reassessment. According to the article, ex parte reexamination filings increased by 66% in 2025 compared to 2024, suggesting a meaningful change in strategy among patent challengers.

Subscribers can read Law360’s full coverage of the USPTO changes here.