USPTO Director John Squires testified at a Senate oversight hearing regarding the agency's progress in reducing patent and trademark pendency through the integration of AI tools. The agency is actively deploying various AI-driven examination workflows, including the Scout LLM and Class ACT, while maintaining an examiner-led model for intellectual property decisions.
The integration of generative AI into the federal patent and trademark workflow marks a shift toward clearing the chronic backlog that often stalls commercialization in the streaming and tech sectors. By reducing patent pendency to 21.8 months, the USPTO is providing faster legal certainty for R&D-heavy industries navigating rapid innovation cycles. This efficiency gain is critical as global competitors like China and the EUIPO simultaneously deploy their own AI tools, such as Early TM Screening, to streamline IP protection. Watch for the full launch of WIPO’s MAICA system in October 2026 to see if international trademark classification timelines align with these domestic improvements.
The UK AI patent rulings continue to influence how global agencies approach the intersection of machine learning and intellectual property rights. As these frameworks evolve, mandatory global AI regulation remains a key point of contention for major tech developers, particularly as the EU AI Act compliance deadlines shift. Recent French courts suspend AI deployments in similar labor-related contexts.
The USPTO has successfully reduced its unexamined patent inventory to under 750,000, a three-year low, by deploying Scout LLM and Class ACT tools. This integration of generative AI accelerates patent and trademark pendency, providing critical legal certainty for R&D-heavy industries and helping them navigate rapid innovation cycles more efficiently.
The unexamined patent inventory has dropped to under 750,000, which is the lowest level recorded in three years.
The agency is currently using the Scout LLM environment, which is deployed to nearly 7,000 users, and the Class ACT tool, which has analyzed over 350,000 trademark applications.
The average patent inventory age dropped from 29 months in late 2025 to 21.8 months by June 2026.
Reducing pendency provides faster legal certainty for industries involved in R&D, allowing them to better navigate rapid innovation cycles and compete globally.
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