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ARTICLE · 13 NOVEMBER 2026

Returning Merits-Based Considerations To PTAB

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United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires’s 10 November 2026 memorandum returns merits-based institution determinations to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), effective 16 November. But practitioners should not mistake the change for a wholesale restoration of the former delegated-institution model.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Jason Engel
Jason Engel
Erik Halverson
Erik Halverson
Jared Lund
Jared Lund

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires’s 10 November 2026 memorandum returns merits-based institution determinations to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), effective 16 November. But practitioners should not mistake the change for a wholesale restoration of the former delegated-institution model. The Director retains non-merits screening and ultimate statutory authority, while separate panels will decide institution and conduct any ensuing trial, with no overlap to avoid bias or preconceived perceptions of the arguments.

Under the revised process, petitions surviving the Director’s initial review go to a three-member PTAB panel for a merits-based institution decision. The change applies to IPRs and PGRs for which a merits-referral notice has not yet been entered. Existing procedures for briefing discretionary considerations and merits/non-discretionary issues remain unchanged. The October 2025 centralization memorandum is superseded only to the

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