Patrick Leahy: Trump’s PTO Director Must Protect Everyday Inventors, Not Wealthy Investors

By Fmr. Senator Patrick Leahy
A thriving economy depends first and foremost on healthy competition. The U.S. became a global economic superpower not thanks to one mega-corporation or a single president, but because everyday inventors and entrepreneurs were given equal access to the free market, where the best, most innovative ideas win out.
But increasingly, a handful of corporations have grown so powerful that they not only dominate their industries, but also begin to take control of the institutions meant to serve as a check on them and ensure an even playing field. This so-called “regulatory capture” is a concern shared across the political spectrum, from my fellow Vermonter Senator Bernie Sanders to the authors of Project 2025.
Even the framers of Project 2025—President Trump’s allies’ plan for an overhaul of federal government policy—agree that “decades of regulatory capture” have weakened the Department of Commerce, the very agency responsible for overseeing our innovation economy.
After years of being deeply involved in intellectual property policy during my time in the U.S. Senate, I am alarmed that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), an agency within the Department of Commerce, may be falling victim to this problem. Following the announcement that John Squires has been tapped as the next PTO Director, both Republicans and Democrats should agree that Squires’ North Star must be the needs of American inventors, big and small, instead of special interests’ priorities.
Patents may seem like a niche issue amid the challenges facing our country, but those who “follow the money” will notice that big-money interests from abroad have zeroed in on U.S. intellectual property as an area to exert their influence.
Specifically, investors have capitalized on a business model that weaponizes frivolous patent lawsuits against American inventors in bad-faith attempts to extort payouts. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently studied this issue and reported that potentially more than half of all patent infringement cases are now funded by third-party investors.
Even more troubling, the GAO noted that entities based in China and Saudi Arabia are often the ones financing these lawsuits––in American courts and against U.S. companies––with no consistent requirement to disclose their foreign ties. This is in addition to what we already know about some of our nation’s most formidable adversaries, including powerful players in Russia and China, weaponizing litigation investment as a tool of economic gamesmanship that weakens U.S. interests.
If patents are the engine of our economy, this type of––often meritless––legal action against true innovators is the grit that keeps the engine from running smoothly.
That’s why, with strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, in 2011, I helped pass the America Invents Act (AIA), the most significant overhaul of our patent system in 50 years. Among other reforms, the AIA created the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)—a body within the PTO comprising administrative patent judges (APJs) who review patents the agency previously granted to ensure they meet the necessary quality standards.
The PTO, like any agency, sometimes makes mistakes and wrongfully grants a portion of the hundreds of thousands of patents it issues each year. But APJs are there to correct these errors. And they overwhelmingly get it right—with a faster review time and higher accuracy rate than patent validity rulings in federal courtrooms. What’s more, this process is free for taxpayers, as the PTAB is funded entirely by fees.
By weeding out invalid patents, the PTAB helps disarm opportunistic litigation funders, which would otherwise turn the low-quality intellectual property against American innovators as an investment strategy. The PTAB is a resource for businesses and inventors of all sizes. When a meritless infringement lawsuit is filed against an entrepreneur related to a product that powers their business, they can turn to the PTAB to have that invalid patent struck down, avoiding a costly and protracted court battle. This is a model for efficiency and good governance I worked to create while in Congress––leveling the playing field, so meritocracy shines through.
But entities that benefit from a system where low-quality intellectual property is allowed to remain in force have sought to undermine the PTAB since its inception. Recently they scored some wins, with an internal PTO announcement that APJs should expect staff reductions and the rollout of a new process which will result in more patent validity review petitions being blocked for discretionary reasons before judges have an opportunity to consider their merits. The combination will make it harder to cancel bad patents.
If these changes are any indication, the PTO is at risk of further succumbing to well-funded outside pressure. With the future of the PTAB in jeopardy, we need a PTO Director who will adjudicate fairly, not one who will favor hedge funds and other investors seeking to operate without constraints. As Director-nominee Squires proceeds through the confirmation process, I hope he commits to the faithful execution of agency duties mandated by Congress, which defend the U.S. IP system from manipulation.
Patrick Leahy was U.S. senator from Vermont from 1975 to 2023, former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property in the 117th Congress.