Three Mandamus Petitions Test USPTO's Expanded Denial Powers

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The Federal Circuit is still sitting on a trio of related mandamus petitions asking the Court to step-in against the USPTO’s 2025 up-ramp of discretionary denial practice.

In re SAP America, Inc., No. 25‑132 and 25-133 (petition filed Jun 16, 2025; briefing complete);
In re Motorola Solutions, Inc., No. 25‑134 (petition filed June 23, 2025; briefing complete); and
In re Google LLC, No. 25‑144 (petition filed August 18, 2025; briefing is ongoing).

In the early days, the USPTO granted very few discretionary denials. Those expanded somewhat under Director Iancu (Trump-I); then retracted somewhat under Director Vidal (Biden). Acting Director Stewart (Trump-II) has blown past Dir. Iancu in her approach, greatly expanding the use of discretionary denials.