Made in America: Director Squires Ties IPR Institution to Domestic Manufacturing

"The International Trade Commission conditions patent relief on a showing that the patent holder maintains a "domestic industry" in the United States. That statutory requirement is derived from ITC's trade-protection mission: the agency exists to guard American industry from unfair imports, not to serve as a general-purpose patent court."

"When deciding whether to institute review, the Director will now consider: The extent to which products accused of infringement in parallel litigation are manufactured in the United States or relate to investments in American manufacturing operations; The extent to which competing products made, sold, or licensed by the patent owner are manufactured in the United States; and Whether the petitioner is a small business sued for infringement of the patent at issue."

The International Trade Commission requires patent holders to maintain a domestic industry in the United States to obtain patent relief, reflecting the agency's trade-protection mission. The USPTO Director issued a memorandum on March 11, 2026, establishing three new discretionary factors for IPR and PGR institution decisions centered on U.S. manufacturing and small business considerations. These factors include the extent to which accused products are manufactured in the United States or relate to American manufacturing investments, the extent to which competing products by the patent owner are manufactured domestically, and whether the petitioner is a small business. This marks the first time a patent forum outside the ITC has imposed comparable domestic industry-related conditions on patent relief decisions.

Read at Patently-O