Innovation Alliance Applauds Trump Administration for Making Strong Patent Rights a Priority in 2026 USTR Special 301 Report
For Immediate Release
April 30, 2026
Innovation Alliance Applauds Trump Administration for Making Strong Patent Rights a Priority in 2026 USTR Special 301 Report
Report Includes New Section Detailing Foreign Country Efforts to Devalue SEP and Other Patent Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Innovation Alliance Executive Director Brian Pomper issued the following statement on the release of the United States Trade Representative’s 2026 Special 301 Report:
“The Innovation Alliance applauds the Trump Administration for sending a clear message that improper burdens and limits on patent use causes significant harm to innovative U.S. companies. We are very grateful to Ambassador Greer and his team for ensuring that the report raises the alarm about the growing incidence of judicial and regulatory actions being taken by our trading partners to devalue and prevent the enforcement of patent rights held by U.S. patent holders, in particular those of U.S. companies that are standard essential patent (SEP) holders.
“The report validates the Administration’s interagency commitment to making strong IP rights a domestic and global priority, and reinforces recent actions taken by the USPTO and the Department of Justice, including filing a joint statement of interest reaffirming the importance of injunctive relief to protecting and incentivizing innovation.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration to secure U.S. technology leadership by protecting U.S. IP rights at home and around the world.”
USTR’s 2026 Special 301 Report identifies and tracks three major trends emerging that improperly and unfairly harm U.S. innovators:
- Court rulings called anti-suit injunctions (ASIs), particularly used by Chinese courts, that bar U.S. companies from enforcing their patents anywhere else in the world.
- Judicial or administrative procedures that compel innovators to grant, without their consent, global licenses to patented technologies on terms set by the court or the government.
- Judicial or legislative efforts to restrict the availability of injunctions against patent infringement, the core remedy that allows patent holders to enforce their rights.
Each of these trends adversely affects U.S. innovators and patent holders and tilts the playing field in favor of foreign companies, many with substantial financial and political support from their home government or acting in concert with government officials.
Innovation Alliance comments submitted to USTR during its 2026 Special 301 Review period earlier this year can be found here.
A transcript of Executive Director Pomper’s testimony at the 2026 Special 301 Public Hearing can be found here.