USTR Report May Stem Trade Partners' Weak-Patent Agenda

"China, the EU and the UK are quietly rewriting the rules on standard-essential patents (SEPs) in ways that strip value from U.S. innovators' technology. As the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) finalizes its 2026 Special 301 Report, Washington has a rare chance to call out these trading partners for turning global licensing into a government-managed exercise that drives royalty rates below market value."

"Those affected most by limiting injunctive relief are private parties that voluntarily agreed to contractual terms to participate in a standards-development organization (SDO). Their contractual obligations are predicated on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms, arrived at by private negotiations within an SDO's contractually binding terms."

"The trading partners involved in these IP rights-weakening initiatives are bound by the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, whose purpose is to raise the level of respect for IP rights in the laws of countries that are party to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Thus, it seems these IP-weakening efforts run counter to TRIPS, and may be subject to WTO sanction."

China, the EU, and the UK are implementing strategies to weaken standard-essential patents (SEPs) by converting global licensing into government-managed processes that drive royalty rates below market value. These efforts also seek to restrict injunctive relief availability for patent owners facing infringement, mirroring domestic U.S. limitations from eBay v. MercExchange. Companies participating in standards-development organizations (SDOs) agreed to fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms through private negotiations, but these new policies undermine those contractual obligations. These IP-weakening initiatives appear to violate the TRIPS Agreement, which obligates WTO members to protect intellectual property rights. The U.S. Trade Representative's 2026 Special 301 Report provides an opportunity to formally document these violations and promote transparency regarding inadequate IP protection.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law