Make SEPs Great Again: after President’s memo on 6G, USPTO forms SEP Working Group “to renew American leadership in technology standards”

Context:

• Since taking office a few months ago, United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires has taken several impactful measures to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. patents and to shield patents from serial and parallel challenges. The USPTO has also recently filed its first-ever public interest comment in a U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC or ITC) investigation, Certain Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Devices (December 2, 2025 ip fray article). But he also showed a commitment to high patent quality when ordering an ex parte reexamination of a Nintendo game rule patent (November 7, 2025 ip fray article).
• On December 19, 2025, President Donald Trump issued his Winning the 6G Race memorandum, which primarily discussed spectrum allocation but also referenced American contributions to 6G standard-setting (“steadfastly advancing American interests in the international standards bodies that will play a crucial role in 6G development”).