John A. Squires
John A. Squires | |
|---|---|
 Squires in 2025 | |
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office | |
| Assumed office September 22, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Kathi Vidal |
| Personal details | |
| Education | Bucknell University (BS) University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD) |
John A. Squires is an American lawyer and senior government official serving as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 18, 2025, and joined the USPTO later that month.[1][2]
Education
Squires received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, with a concentration in organic chemistry, from Bucknell University. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the law review and the Order of the Coif.[3][2]
Career
Before joining the USPTO, Squires was a partner and chair of the intellectual property and emerging companies practice at Dilworth Paxson LLP. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.[4][3]
Squires previously served as chief intellectual property counsel at Goldman Sachs from 2000 to 2009. His earlier professional experience included work as an intellectual property attorney at Honeywell and at the law firms Chadbourne & Parke, Clifford Chance, Morgan & Finnegan, Perkins Coie, and Gibson Dunn.[1][4][3]
USPTO director
President Donald Trump nominated Squires in March 2025 to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.[4] The Senate confirmed him on September 18, 2025, by a vote of 51–47 as part of an en bloc confirmation vote covering multiple executive nominations.[5] The USPTO announced his arrival as director on September 22, 2025.[2]
As director, Squires leads the USPTO, which issues patents and trademarks, advises the federal government on intellectual property policy, and oversees the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.[1] In October 2025, Squires announced that he would personally determine whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should institute certain patent-validity reviews, taking over a responsibility that had previously been delegated to board judges.[6]
In March 2026, Squires testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet during an oversight hearing on the USPTO. Reuters reported that lawmakers questioned him about the agency's trademark-related work connected to the Board of Peace and about possible conflicts affecting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Squires defended the USPTO's actions, saying the trademark applications were filed to address national-security and cybersquatting concerns.[7][8]
References
- 1 2 3 Brittain, Blake (September 18, 2025). "US Senate confirms Trump's pick to run US Patent and Trademark Office". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "USPTO welcomes new Director John A. Squires". United States Patent and Trademark Office. September 22, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "John A. Squires". United States Patent and Trademark Office. September 22, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Brittain, Blake (March 11, 2025). "Trump nominates ex-Goldman Sachs lawyer to head US patent agency". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Roll Call Vote 119th Congress - 1st Session: Vote Number 526". United States Senate. September 18, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ Brittain, Blake (October 17, 2025). "US Patent Office director takes authority over agency patent reviews". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ Brittain, Blake (March 25, 2026). "US patent office head faces bipartisan grilling in Congress". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office". United States House Committee on the Judiciary. March 25, 2026. Retrieved April 29, 2026.