Prohibiting Adversarial Patents Act of 2026

This bill amends U.S. patent law to restrict certain persons who pose a national security threat from receiving or enforcing patents. It adds a new section to title 35 that prohibits issuing patents to, and makes unenforceable any patents held by, persons on specific U.S. government lists related to Chinese military companies or banned communications equipment. It also bars expedited patent review for such persons, but allows the President to waive these restrictions under certain conditions.

Sec. 2, Limitation on ability of persons who pose a threat to national security to receive and enforce patents: This section adds a new section 106 to title 35. It prohibits issuing a U.S. patent to any person on the NS-CMIC List, identified as a Chinese military company in a specified annual report, or on the FCC's list of banned communications equipment. Any existing patent held by such a person is unenforceable, and no expedited review (like the Patent Prosecution Highway) is allowed for their applications. The President may waive these prohibitions for up to 180-day periods if they determine no essential security interest exists and submit a detailed report to Congress. The waiver must be consistent with international obligations. The prohibition does not affect the person's ability to file a patent application, its examination (except for expedited review), or patent ownership or term.