Prohibiting Adversarial Patents Act of 2026 (H.R. 9142): What the Drone Industry Needs to Know

On June 4, 2026, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5) introduced a bill that would limit the ability of people and entities seen as threats to U.S. national security to obtain and enforce patents. If enacted, the Prohibiting Adversarial Patents Act of 2026 (H.R. 9142) would leverage use of patent law as a national security tool, with consequences for companies operating in technology-intensive sectors, including drones, telecommunications, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing. The proposed legislation, currently under review by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, is particularly focused on persons and entities with connections to the People’s Republic of China.

Covered Persons

The bill applies to persons (or any subsidiary, affiliate, successor, assign, legal representative, or privy of such persons) who:

1. Are entities on the Non-SDN Chinese Military Industrial Complex Companies List maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
2. Are identified as a Chinese military company in the most recent annual report submitted under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021.
3. Produce or provide communication equipment or service on the list published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under section 2(a) of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (i.e., the FCC Covered List).

The Three Prohibitions

For covered persons, the bill imposes three distinct restrictions:

1. A covered person may not be issued a United States patent for an invention.
2. Any United States patent already issued to a covered person shall be unenforceable (with significant retroactive effects).
3. No procedure, including any procedure under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Program, may be used to conduct an expedited review of a patent application filed by a covered person.

Presidential Waiver

The president may waive the prohibition for successive periods of not more than 180 days each, provided that the president determines there is not an essential security interest in applying the prohibition and submits a report to the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees not less than 30 days before granting the waiver. The president must exercise any such waiver authority in a manner consistent with international obligations.

What Is NOT Restricted

The bill does not affect a covered person’s ability to file a patent application, the examination of any such application (other than expedited review), or the ownership or term of any patent owned by such person.

Industry Implications

Companies in the drone industry may face immediate exposure, including that drone manufacturers and operators who have entered into cross-licensing arrangements with covered entities may find those arrangements legally void or practically unenforceable.

The prohibition on expedited review procedures, including the PPH Program, would effectively deny strategic patent-seeking advantages for covered persons. For U.S. companies with joint development agreements or collaborative R&D arrangements with covered entities, questions may arise about inventorship, ownership, and whether resulting patents could be tainted by association.

The bill could also alter the competitive balance in technology sectors where Chinese entities hold significant patent portfolios. U.S. and allied-country companies that have operated under the shadow of infringement claims by covered entities may gain significant freedom-to-operate if those patents become unenforceable. This could be a substantial commercial benefit for U.S. manufacturers in sectors such as consumer electronics, wireless communications, and unmanned aerial systems. However, if this is enacted into law, historical precedent suggests a likelihood of retributive action by the Chinese government that could diminish or strip the patent rights of U.S. companies who have or are seeking to obtain patents in China. 

Recommended Action

• Audit existing licensing agreements for exposure to patents held by covered entities.
• Screen joint ventures, R&D partnerships, and supply chain relationships for connections to covered entities given the bill’s broad affiliate scope.
• Update M&A IP due diligence checklists to include adversarial patent screening.
• Monitor the bill’s progress through the House Judiciary Committee and any amendments that could modify its scope or effective date.
• Engage with congressional representatives through public comment and/or industry association channels if your business faces material exposure.

Crowell & Moring’s IP and Aviation practices are closely monitoring H.R. 9142. Please contact your Crowell & Moring lawyer with any questions.

This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.