By Blake Brittain

March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated John Squires, the former chief intellectual property attorney at banking giant Goldman Sachs GS.N, to become the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to a notice on the U.S. Congress' website.

Squires would serve under U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 18.

Lutnick, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a named inventor on hundreds of U.S. patents. Lutnick pledged during his Senate confirmation hearing to address an "unacceptable" backlog of patent applications and the alleged abuse of the U.S. patent system by Chinese applicants.

Squires is currently a partner at law firm Dilworth Paxson in New York with a practice focusing on artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and cybersecurity, according to the firm's website. He is also a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and was previously an IP partner at Perkins Coie.

"President Trump continues to nominate strong leaders that will advance his America-first agenda, and John Squires is a prime example," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said.

Squires and spokespeople for Dilworth Paxson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his nomination. A spokesperson for the USPTO declined to comment.

If confirmed, Squires will lead the USPTO as it faces novel questions about the role of fast-growing AI technology in inventing and increasing competition with China on innovation. Squires would take over from Kathi Vidal, the USPTO's director under the Democratic Biden administration, who returned to her former law firm Winston & Strawn after Trump, a Republican, won the election.

The USPTO is responsible for issuing U.S. patents and trademarks and advising the government on intellectual property policy. The office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews the validity of existing patents, and is often used by tech companies and others seeking to cancel patents they are accused of infringing.

The agency has more than 14,000 employees, according to its website, and is entirely funded by user fees. An internal USPTO email last month that was viewed by Reuters said some probationary employees had lost their jobs amid the Trump administration's government downsizing effort. The White House has not publicly singled out the USPTO for job reductions.

Squires' professional experience also includes stints as an IP attorney at international conglomerate Honeywell HON.O and law firms Chadbourne & Parke, Clifford Chance and Morgan & Finnegan.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; additional reporting by Patrick Wingrove in New York)