Foreign Adversary Patent Disclosure Act

The Foreign Adversary Patent Disclosure Act requires inventors to reveal specific ties to five designated foreign nations, including China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea, when filing patent applications. Under this law, applicants must disclose if anyone with an ownership interest in the invention was employed by an entity controlled by these countries, received funding from state-affiliated programs, or obtained financial incentives related to the patent within the five years prior to submission. The bill also allows patent officials to request supporting documents for these disclosures while keeping them confidential, but it exempts small businesses that already report foreign ownership under existing Small Business Act rules.