USTR’s 2026 Special 301 Report

Dr. Julie Carlson, Director of Government Affairs at Qualcomm and former senior staff economist in the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, discusses the globalization of intellectual property (IP) litigation, how an inability to enforce IP rights threatens innovation and U.S. technological leadership, and what Congress can do to improve and restore the ability of patent owners to reliably enforce their rights.

Coke Morgan Stewart, President and CEO of the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP), and a Former Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), discusses the Constitutional foundations of intellectual property protection and the resulting democratization of innovation, patent eligibility, false narratives about the U.S. patent system, and the need to stabilize and strengthen our IP system to outcompete China.

Dr. Colleen Scott, a 2026 winner of the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s American Innovator Award, chemist and Associate Professor at Mississippi State University, who discovered a new class of shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging dyes that have potential to allow surgeons to visualize tumors with greater depth and clarity in real time, discusses the economic significance of the Bayh-Dole Act and importance of strong IP protections in bringing new innovations to market.

Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles, discusses the United States Trade Representative’s 2026 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of the intellectual property protection practices of U.S. trading partners, changes and surprised compared to reports of previous years, and the practical impacts on global IP protection of the report going forward.

Stephen Susalka, Chief Executive Officer of AUTM, discusses how university technology transfer powers the innovation economy – creating jobs, saving and enhancing lives, and improving productivity – the Bayh-Dole Act, which has enabled tremendous progress in innovation, and the importance of strong and predictable intellectual property protections.

Kristen Jakobsen Osenga, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Richmond School of Law, discusses patent eligibility and preliminary injunctions in patent litigation, how strong intellectual property protections drive innovation, and some of the terminology (i.e., “evergreening” and “patent thickets”) often used by advocates for weaker intellectual property protections.

Mark Schultz, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Chair in Intellectual Property and Director of the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program at the University of Akron School of Law, discusses how strong intellectual property (IP) protections are essential to the free market and modern economy, and the need to return to a more effective and predictable IP system in the U.S.

David Kappos, Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Practice at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and former Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, discusses how strong intellectual property (IP) protections are essential for the U.S. to continue to lead the world in innovation, the importance of IP protections to attract capital necessary to innovate, and the need for Congress to act to fix issues dealing with injunctive relief for patent infringement, patent eligibility, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Sally Pipes, President, CEO and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Healthcare Policy at the Pacific Research Institute, discusses how “Most Favored Nation” pricing schemes, which seek to import foreign price controls on prescription drugs, would harm innovation, undermine intellectual property rights and threaten America’s pharmaceutical supremacy, a better way to address foreign freeloading, the success of the Bayh-Dole Act, and more.

Joshua Kresh, Executive Director of the IP Policy Institute (IPPI) at the University of Akron School of Law, discusses IPPI’s work, how strong intellectual property (IP) protections drive innovation and the economic success of the nation, misleading terms like “patent thickets” and “evergreening,” and more.