Director Squires Designates Ex Parte Desjardins Decision As Precedential

On November 4, 2025, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, John Squires, designated the Ex Parte Desjardins decision of September 26, 2025 as "precedential." We previously wrote about the decision and its implications here.

Such opinions, issued by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (or alternatively, directly by the director or by the Appeals Review Panel which oversees the PTAB), establish binding (rather than just persuasive or informative) authority for the PTAB and Examiners within the USPTO on broadly applicable principles.

Of significance here, the Desjardins decision, as we previously discussed, cautions against the overbroad application of 35 U.S.C. 101 (subject matter eligibility), and affirms that artificial intelligence inventions are not categorically excluded from patentability.