WASHINGTON (April 18, 2025) — Today, the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz applauding the recent actions of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to improve the efficiency of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and eliminate unnecessary duplication of patent challenges before the PTAB and other tribunals, including the USPTO’s withdrawal of the 2022 PTAB guidance and March 26, 2025, issuance of a new two-step discretionary denial review process.
Frank Cullen, executive director of C4IP, issued the following statement:
“The USPTO’s withdrawal of the 2022 PTAB guidance marks a critical course correction for American innovation. That policy allowed Big Tech and other large corporations to inundate smaller competitors with redundant, costly legal challenges — weakening the very innovators we need to lead in high-tech manufacturing and next-generation technologies.
“We also strongly support the USPTO’s recent memorandum establishing an interim two-step institution review process to address PTAB workload management. This allows the Director, in consultation with the PTAB, to consider whether discretionary factors weigh against instituting a review — including when a district court is already examining the same issues. It’s a long-overdue reform that will help prevent redundant proceedings and improve administrative efficiency. We encourage the Office to take further steps to regularize this process through formal rulemaking.
“The Big Tech claim that these recent actions to streamline PTAB challenges and eliminate duplication would somehow benefit China is simply not grounded in reality. The real threat to American competitiveness is a system that lets dominant corporations misuse PTAB proceedings to sideline smaller domestic innovators.
“Together, the withdrawal of the 2022 guidance and the interim changes to discretionary denial practice represent meaningful progress toward a patent system that prioritizes fairness, efficiency, and innovation. But to truly safeguard the U.S. innovation ecosystem — and outcompete our economic competitors over the long term — we must build on this progress. The administration should endorse legislative measures such as the PREVAIL Act, which would codify similar needed reforms to the PTAB, thereby more permanently improving the current patent review framework.
“C4IP looks forward to working with the administration to ensure a patent system that defends American-made inventions, strengthens national security, and maintains the United States’ global leadership in innovation.”
About Council for Innovation Promotion: The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.