Patent Office Appeals Review Decision Suggests Policy Shift Toward Broader Eligibility For Ai-Related Patent Applications (Updated)

Recently, the USPTO published a rare Appeals Review Panel (ARP) decision in Ex parte Desjardins, Appeal 2024-000567, September 26, 2025 (“ARP Decision”), that reversed a finding of ineligible subject matter in a patent application directed to training of machine learning models. This decision, authored by new USPTO Director John Squires in the first week of his tenure, appears to signal new USPTO leadership’s intent to limit examiners’ reliance on subject-matter eligibility to reject claims,…
By: Kilpatrick