Patent Chief Hosts 'Moneyball' Screening Amid Ethics Concerns

US Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires is facing criticism for hosting a movie screening at the Motion Picture Association's headquarters in Washington to celebrate his one-year anniversary of leading the agency.

The event, which includes a reception and remarks from Squires, has raised eyebrows due to its self-celebratory nature and involvement of entities with a stake in agency decision making. The National Inventors Hall of Fame, which receives funding from the PTO, is paying for the event.

Patent attorney Gene Quinn lambasted the event in a blog post, saying it was 'wildly inappropriate' for those with business before the USPTO or affected by U.S. IP laws and policy. The Hall of Fame lists the PTO as one of its donors and sponsors, alongside companies such as InterDigital Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Intel Corp., and Google LLC.

Squires responded to Quinn on LinkedIn, but did not address potential ethics issues raised in the post, including that the MPA offered its space for the event at a discounted rate and that Sony Pictures provided a royalty-free license of 'Moneyball' for the event.