USMADE has signed onto a landmark joint letter — co-signed by six leading trade associations representing automakers, semiconductor manufacturers, precision machinery firms, and the software, AI, and quantum computing industries — urging OMB Director Russell Vought to direct OIRA to withhold approval of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s proposed rulemaking on “Revision to Rules of Practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.” The proposed rule would further restrict access to inter partes review (IPR), a critical tool that allows U.S. manufacturers to defend themselves against abusive patent litigation. The coalition argues that weakening IPR would impose significant costs on American businesses driving domestic innovation while benefiting patent trolls and foreign non-practicing entities. It has been estimated that in the first five years after IPR was created, IPR has helped patent owners and accused infringers avoid at least $2.31 billion in deadweight losses by providing an efficient system for challenging patents. IPR petition filings have already collapsed by nearly 75% under USPTO’s current policies, and this proposed rule would only further a trend hurting productive American businesses. USMADE and its coalition partners are calling on OIRA to return the rule to USPTO for a full
economic and legal review before any further action and require a complete Regulatory Impact Analysis before it moves forward.
Read the letter below.