By Nick Robertson ( October 5, 2026, 18:21 GMT | Comment) -- US Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires expects to announce "in the coming weeks" a plan to return merits-based institution decisions to Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges, he told MLex, as a separate rulemaking to restrict inter partes review remains under White House review.A formal announcement about a proposal at the US Patent and Trademark Office to return merit-based inter partes review, or IPR, institution decisions to judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is expected "in the coming weeks," USPTO Director John Squires told MLex....
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