Introduced in Senate
Prohibiting Adversarial Patents Act of 2026
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLETrack this section →
This Act may be cited as the Prohibiting Adversarial Patents Act of 2026.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ABILITY OF PERSONS THAT POSE A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY TO RECEIVE AND ENFORCE PATENTSTrack this section →
(a) In general Chapter 10 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 106. Limitation on ability of persons that pose a threat to national security to receive and enforce patents (a) Limitation Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (1) a person may not be issued a United States patent for an invention if that person (or any subsidiary, affiliate, successor, assign, legal representative, or privy of that person)— (A) is on the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List (NS–CMIC List) maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order 13959 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to addressing the threat from securities investments that finance communist Chinese military companies), or any successor order; (B) is on the list of Chinese military companies operating in the United States required by section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note; Public Law 116–283); or (C) produces or provides communications equipment or service on the list published by the Federal Communications Commission under section 2(a) of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1601(a)); (2) any United States patent (whether issued before, on, or after the date of enactment of this section) shall be unenforceable during any period in which the person to which the patent is issued is as described in paragraph (1); and (3) no procedure, including any procedure under the Patent Prosecution Highway Program, may be used to conduct an expedited review an application for a patent filed by a person described in paragraph (1). (b) Waiver (1) In general The President may waive the application of the prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to a person for successive periods of not more than 180 days each if the President— (A) determines that there is not an essential security interest in applying the prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to that person; and (B) submits, not fewer than 30 days before waiving that prohibition, a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives containing— (i) a specific and detailed rationale for the determination that there is not an essential security interest in applying the prohibition with respect to that person; (ii) a description of the activity that resulted in the person being included on a list or in a report described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(1); (iii) an assessment of the significance of the activity described in clause (ii) to the national security interests of the United States or allies of the United States; and (iv) an explanation of any effort made by the United States to secure the cooperation of the government with primary jurisdiction over the person, or of the location in which the activity described in clause (ii) occurred, to terminate, as appropriate, or penalize that activity. (2) Consistency with international obligations The President shall ensure that, in granting any waiver under this subsection, the President exercises that authority in a manner that is consistent with international obligations. (c) No effect on patent application; ownership and term of patent The application of the prohibition under subsection (a), or the grant of any waiver under subsection (b), to a person shall not affect— (1) the ability of that person to file a patent application; (2) except as provided in subsection (a)(3), the examination of any patent application filed by that person; or (3) the ownership or term of any patent owned by that person.. (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 10 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 105 the following: 106. Limitation on ability of persons that pose a threat to national security to receive and enforce patents..