Updates On Director Summary Notices For Decisions On Institution

On November 20, 2025, Director Squires issued another notice of decisions on institution and amended his first two notices of decisions on institution. All three of these notices contain an updated format, compared to the first two notices, that provides the public with more information about the institution status of post-grant proceedings. Notably, unlike the first two notices that listed cases where institution was denied without specifying the basis of denial, the new notices separate cases into three categories: discretionary denials, cases being reviewed for merit and non-discretionary issue-based denials, and merits-based denials.

Director Squires assumed the responsibility of issuing institution decisions on October 20, 2025. Additional details about this change may be found in our posts: The New Director Institution Process: USPTO Hour Webinar Provides Updates and First Decision is Released and Recent USPTO Announcements: Proposed Rules to Limit PTAB