Lutnick poised to protect U.S. competitiveness amid widespread IP abuse by global competitors
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Manufacturers Association for Development and Enterprise (US-MADE), the leading national organization dedicated to protecting American manufacturers from abusive patent litigation, congratulated Commerce Secretary Howard W. Lutnick and pledged to work with him to implement policies that boost U.S. competitiveness in light of growing threats from foreign-based competitors.
“Among the many critical responsibilities of the next Secretary of Commerce, overseeing our patent system during this time of escalating frivolous litigation and threats to the integrity of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is essential,” said David Crane, Executive Director of US-MADE. “With decades of experience as an inventor and leader in finance, Howard Lutnick understands these challenges firsthand. Under his leadership, our federal government can restore commonsense policies that protect American innovators, large and small, from the weaponization of low-quality patents.”
The Secretary of Commerce plays a key role in shaping policies that promote American businesses both domestically and globally. This includes overseeing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as it faces increasing pressure from foreign-based non-practicing entities.
Defending the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the USPTO is critical to combating this challenge. The PTAB offers expert review mechanisms to eliminate weak patents at no cost to taxpayers. Studies show that, year after year, the majority of patents challenged at the PTAB are owned by foreign corporations or their affiliates, with U.S.-based companies leading the charge in bringing these challenges.
“Given Secretary Lutnick’s commitment to addressing Chinese abuse of the USPTO, American manufacturers are optimistic that his leadership will strengthen the PTAB’s ability to eliminate weak patents, particularly those from Beijing and other foreign sources,” Crane added. “This includes protecting inter partes review and other processes from misguided agency rulemaking that has shifted U.S. companies’ patent challenges away from the PTAB and toward less accurate district courts.”
At the same time, these bad-faith actors are exploiting the federal court system, filing meritless patent infringement lawsuits that are often financed by undisclosed third-party investors. A December report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggested that more than half of all patent litigation is backed by third-party investments, with countries like China and Saudi Arabia involved in funding lawsuits against American companies in U.S. courts.
As American leadership confronts growing challenges amid a rapidly evolving economic and technological landscape, US-MADE is eager to collaborate with Secretary Lutnick on policies that strengthen the PTAB, increase transparency in patent litigation financing, and safeguard our intellectual property system from foreign exploitation.