C4IP Coalition Updates: October 2026

Highlight: Welcoming Valencia Martin Wallace to C4IP’s Advisory Board

Former USPTO Acting Commissioner for Patents Valencia Martin Wallace joined C4IP’s Advisory Board this month, adding more than three decades of experience in patent policy and administration to its leadership team.

Wallace retired from the USPTO in April after a 34-year career, most recently overseeing approximately 10,000 employees, including more than 9,000 patent examiners. Her work on patent quality, international cooperation, and patent operations has given her deep expertise in engaging with innovation stakeholders, as well as firsthand insight into what inventors need from a reliable patent system.

Wallace’s experience will help inform C4IP’s work to strengthen patent rights and ensure American innovators can turn discoveries into new products and businesses. Throughout October, C4IP welcomed Wallace and looked ahead to what she will help contribute to C4IP’s advocacy:

• On October 6, C4IP announced Valencia Martin Wallace’s appointment in a press release, with President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart and Co-Chairs David Kappos and Andrei Iancu praising her expertise in patent administration and commitment to American innovation.
• On October 8, Wallace’s appointment was covered in a Law360 article, “Ex-Patent Commissioner Joins IP Advocacy Group Board.”
• On October 9, Wallace’s appointment was covered in IPWatchdog’s weekly news roundup, which highlighted her exceptional USPTO career.

Government Engagement

• On October 14, C4IP issued a statement applauding the United Kingdom government’s evidence-based decision to preserve injunctive relief and reject unnecessary new standard-essential patent regulations, while cautioning that proposals to expand the role of courts in early FRAND determinations could still undermine market-driven licensing.
• On October 27, C4IP issued a statement urging the Treasury Department to narrow its recently proposed restrictions on outbound biotechnology investment as part of its implementation of the COINS Act. The proposed rule would broadly restrict joint ventures and other investment arrangements, potentially preventing U.S. innovators from acquiring valuable biotech IP from China and other countries.
  • IPWatchdog published an article covering the proposed restrictions, featuring C4IP’s statement and quoting President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart.
• On October 29, C4IP submitted comments regarding significant foreign trade barriers maintained by Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), and Vietnam for consideration in the 2027 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report.

Additional Coalition Updates

• On October 1, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart was quoted in an MLex article on the recent and historic $5.7 billion patent infringement judgment against Apple, emphasizing that patents’ value depends on inventors’ ability to enforce them and obtain compensation for infringement.
• On October 1, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart was featured in a Law360 article covering US Inventor’s September conference, where she had featured in a panel discussion on PTAB changes and the USPTO director’s authority over patent challenges.
• On October 1, C4IP’s recent comments on China’s persistent shortcomings in intellectual property protection were mentioned in a South China Morning Post article about the WTO’s hearings on the topic.
• On October 2, C4IP published a blog post rounding up takeaways from its “Idea Factories” webinar — based on a report by USC Professor Jonathan Barnett — featuring experts including Safi Bahcall, Kirti Gupta, and C4IP Co-Chair Andrei Iancu on how strong IP protections sustain the innovative firms that drive America’s technology ecosystems.
• On October 4, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart published an op-ed in IPWatchdog explaining how improvements to existing medicines can deliver meaningful patient benefits and why they should not be dismissed as patent abuse.

“Patients want medical advances, and they want choices. If we demonize new versions of existing medicines, we won’t just harm innovation, we will harm medical outcomes for the people who depend on them.”

• On October 8, C4IP Executive Director Frank Cullen was quoted in a Law360 article on the USPTO’s proposal to limit PTAB challenges, expressing C4IP’s support for the proposed rules and the PREVAIL Act.
• On October 8, C4IP Advisory Board Member Laura Peter published the first article in a new IPWatchdog series that will provide an inside look into international IP developments.
• On October 12, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart published an op-ed in IPWatchdog explaining how familiar anti-patent narratives are often used to excuse the infringement of legitimate inventors’ rights.

“[T]he campaign against so-called bad patents and patent trolls isn’t just misleading. It is intentionally undermining confidence in the very property rights our patent system was created to protect.”

• On October 13, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart was featured on an episode of the Clause 8 “Voice of IP” podcast, where she reflected on her time at the USPTO and the need for stability and certainty in U.S. patent policy.
• On October 15, C4IP’s public comments on proposed limits to PTAB challenges were cited in an IPWatchdog article on the proposal, which highlighted C4IP’s support for the PREVAIL Act and its recommendation to preserve a viable process for challenging patents.
• On October 16, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart was quoted in an MLex article on legislation targeting U.S. patents held by certain Chinese companies, cautioning that the proposal could invite retaliation against American businesses.
• On October 16, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart was quoted in an MLex article on the United Kingdom’s proposal to expand government involvement in FRAND determinations, warning that the measures would draw courts and government further into private licensing negotiations.
• On October 20, C4IP Co-Chair and former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu and former National Cyber Director Chris Inglis published an op-ed in Fortune arguing that stronger patent rights are essential to the startups developing technologies critical to America’s national security.

“America’s national security depends on the startups developing the technologies of the future. If U.S. leaders want to defend the country against 21st-century threats, they must begin by defending those startups’ intellectual property here at home.”

• On October 20, C4IP published a blog post celebrating Intellectual Property Month by spotlighting historic American patents — from Samuel Hopkins’s first U.S. patent to the sports bra — and explaining how time-limited patent rights reward disclosure while giving inventors the incentive to bring ideas to market.
• On October 21, C4IP Chief Policy Officer and Counsel Jamie Simpson published an op-ed in IPWatchdog arguing against the Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act, which could allow biomedical inventors to be stripped of important IP rights due to simple procedural missteps.
• On October 26, C4IP Co-Chair and former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu appeared on The Lunch Hour with Washington Signal podcast, where he discussed the importance of strong IP protections for American innovation, including pharmaceutical development, startups, and competition with China.
  • You can listen to his episode here.
• On October 27, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart published an op-ed in Fortune underscoring the importance of intellectual property rights in enabling small creators and innovators to bring their work to the public, compete with larger firms, and strengthen America’s economy.
  • Stewart’s argument and her support for strong IP protections were later detailed in articles in Tokenpost and Washington Morning.
• On October 29, C4IP Advisory Board Member Laura Peter was featured in an IAM article as part of its Women in IP series.
• On November 5, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart gave a keynote address at the University of Akron on the current state of IP policy in Washington. She’ll discuss the latest developments at the USPTO, patent eligibility and enforcement, and proposals under consideration to strengthen IP rights.
  • You can find more details here.
• On November 6, at UIC Law’s 70th Annual Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law Conference, C4IP President and CEO Coke Morgan Stewart joined other IP experts to discuss the latest developments in the intellectual property field.
  • Learn more here.