Who Will Defend American Innovation?
The Left, the Right, or No One at All?
America thrives on innovation. It creates wealth, opportunity, and global dominance—issues that should be bipartisan. But right now, our intellectual property system is under siege. For small inventors, this has been an existential fight for a long time. Now, the consequences are spreading across the economy and even national security.
The Corporate Hypocrisy: IP for Me, But Not for Thee
Big business fiercely protects its own intellectual property—until it isn’t theirs. When their bottom line is at stake, they’ll spend millions defending their patents. But when it comes to independent inventors, startups, and small businesses, they weaponize the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to make it easier and cheaper to invalidate patents than to pay for them.
The same system allows foreign adversaries to undermine American innovation. China and other nations use this legal backdoor to wipe out patents on emerging technologies, cutting off America’s economic and technological edge from the inside.
The question is simple: Who in our government is willing to stand up for small inventors instead of corporate donors?
Unfair and Rigged
The PTAB process is a forced gauntlet that patent owners have no choice but to endure if their patent is challenged. When a patent is issued by the USPTO, it should grant the owner exclusive rights, but in reality, large corporations and foreign entities have weaponized the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to challenge patents through an administrative process rather than in a real court.
Patent owners do not get a choice. If their patent is challenged through Inter Partes Review (IPR) or Post-Grant Review (PGR), they are forced into PTAB instead of having the right to defend their patent before a judge and jury. Once a challenge is filed, the PTAB decides whether to institute a review. If they decline, the patent remains intact—but in most cases, they proceed.
From that point, the patent owner is dragged into a system they never consented to, where they must defend their patent in a process that results in an astonishing 84% invalidation rate. The cost of mounting a defense is crippling for small inventors and startups, with legal fees reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most simply cannot afford to fight, leaving them with no real recourse.
If the PTAB invalidates the patent, the owner can attempt an appeal to the Federal Circuit, but overturning a PTAB decision is rare. Meanwhile, large corporations and foreign interests continue to exploit this system to strip inventors of their rights and undermine U.S. innovation.
There are clear, simple solutions to restore fairness to the system. Give patent owners the right to defend their patents in an Article III court instead of forcing them into an administrative tribunal that overwhelmingly favors challengers. The PTAB has become a weapon against small inventors, and allowing them the choice of a real trial would be a crucial first step in shifting power back to those actually creating innovation—not those exploiting legal loopholes to kill competition.
The question now is, who in our government will stand with inventors and fix this broken system?
Unity through Universality
Many on the left have been reluctant to question PTAB because it was originally sold as a way to prevent patent trolling. But in practice, it has been hijacked by corporate interests and foreign powers. A system meant to protect innovation now destroys it. If Democrats are serious about standing up to corporate power and protecting American jobs, this is where they prove it.
For conservatives, this is a direct challenge to their claims of defending private property and American competitiveness. If they believe in free enterprise, protecting inventors, and standing up to China, they should be leading this fight.
At the heart of this battle is the center—the decision-makers who actually sway policy. Intellectual property reform is one of the strongest levers to shift the tide. I have seen firsthand that this is not a partisan issue. I am part of an extraordinary group of inventors—US Inventors (usinventors.org)—a coalition of people from all walks of life and political beliefs. We do not agree on everything, but we work together toward a shared goal that benefits all Americans: restoring true patent protections, supporting innovation, and ensuring that the U.S. remains the global leader in technology and invention. Our collaboration is proof that meaningful change is possible when people unite around a cause that transcends ideology. We all understand that what’s happening is a direct violation of our constitutional property rights, and we stand together to fight back. This is scalable.
Who Will Act? Who Will Earn Our Support?
For too long, independent inventors have been ignored. Investment has been crushed. The ability to bring ideas to market has been choked off.
Now, as the fight escalates, our elected officials have a choice:
Stand with small inventors and restore fairness to our innovation system.
Or keep taking lobbyist money from the corporations profiting off our losses.
If innovation is truly essential to our economy and national defense, lawmakers must decide: Do they support independent inventors and America’s economic future, or do they side with the corporations that have rigged the system?
This fight has been life or death for small inventors for years. Now, it’s time for our representatives, executive and legislative, to either stand up or stop asking for our support.
This will not make me rich but helps me keep up the fight. It also lets you show your support for retaking America with a movement of sanity and practicality.
