August 2025 Update from PTAB/USPTO: Changes in Intellectual Property Laws and Patent Standards
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced stricter enforcement of rules for Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions, effective September 1, 2025. This change aligns with the statutory limitation under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b), which confines invalidity grounds in IPR to patents or printed publications.
According to the new regulations, only prior art patents or printed publications may serve as the basis for claim challenges in IPR petitions. Petitioners must explicitly identify which parts of the prior art correspond to each claim limitation. Other types of evidence—such as Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA), expert testimony, or general knowledge—cannot be used to fill gaps where limitations are missing from the cited patents or publications.
This enforcement is a significant shift from the previous practice, which allowed for more flexible evidence use. A recent memorandum by the Acting Director of the USPTO, Coke M. Stewart, rescinded prior discretionary waivers, making it clear that any reliance on non-patent/non-printed publication evidence to complete a claim element will result in denial of the IPR petition.
In other USPTO news, the USPTO Performance Review Board for Senior Level and Senior Executive Service positions was updated on July 25, 2025, with the appointment of several individuals, including Coke M. Stewart as Chair. Acting Director Stewart also addressed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on July 9, 2025, discussing traditional knowledge and genetic resources, the cost-effectiveness of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system, and the promotion of intellectual property rights.
The USPTO has also introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based DesignVision tool to assist patent examiners in searching prior art, which was released on July 17, 2025. All hearings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) will be held in-person at USPTO offices starting September 1, 2025, with the option for remote attendance by request.
The USPTO has expanded its accelerated grant program, allowing for accelerated examination in Belize, Guatemala, and the United Arab Emirates, effective July 11, 2025. The annual limit on accepted requests for prioritized examination has been increased to 20,000, effective July 8, 2025.
Additionally, the USPTO will begin issuing a combined notice of payment deficiency and order to show cause when it makes a preliminary determination that a patent application contains a false assertion or certification of small or micro entity status that resulted in the payment of at least one fee in an unentitled reduced amount.
The US Department of Commerce is considering charging patent holders an additional fee that represents a percentage of the patent's value to raise additional funds, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on July 28, 2025. Requirements for service of process related to civil actions and claims involving current and former employees of the USPTO are currently under review.
The USPTO Quality Survey, designed to measure opinions about the services the USPTO provides to its patent application customers, is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget. The comment period for input on the Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces has been reopened.
Lastly, a new AI-powered image search tool, Design Vision, was added to the Patents End-to-End (PE2E) search suite on August 12, 2025. There are no new interim rules at this time.
- The Acting Director of the USPTO, Coke M. Stewart, addressed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on July 9, 2025, not only discussing traditional knowledge and genetic resources, but also the cost-effectiveness of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system and the promotion of intellectual property rights.
- While the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced stricter enforcement of rules for Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions as of September 1, 2025, it has also introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based DesignVision tool to assist patent examiners in searching prior art, released on July 17, 2025.
