As we look ahead to the year, the Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs has identified a focused set of policy priorities to strengthen America’s innovation economy. At the top of that list is restoring clarity and certainty to patent eligibility through the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA).
For startups and individual inventors, patent eligibility is not an abstract legal issue. It determines whether new ideas can attract investment, whether emerging companies can compete with entrenched incumbents, and whether breakthrough technologies can be commercialized in the United States rather than abroad. Over the past decade, uncertainty surrounding Section 101 of the Patent Act has undermined all three.
Judicial decisions have narrowed patent eligibility in ways Congress never intended, leaving entire sectors — medical diagnostics, artificial intelligence, fintech, and other software-enabled innovations — caught in legal limbo. As a result, promising technologies have gone unfunded, startups have struggled to scale, and innovation has increasingly migrated to jurisdictions with clearer and more predictable IP rules.
This erosion carries consequences beyond lost economic opportunity. Leadership in AI, diagnostics, and advanced technologies is increasingly tied to national security. When U.S. innovators are unable to protect their inventions at home, competitors — particularly China — are more than willing to step in. A weakened patent system not only disadvantages startups; it also risks ceding strategic leadership in fields critical to public health, economic resilience, and defense.
PERA offers a practical and bipartisan solution. By restoring patent eligibility standards grounded in statute and long-standing practice, the bill would ensure that inventions are judged on their merits rather than excluded by vague judicial exceptions. This clarity would help unlock investment in high-risk, high-impact technologies and give startups a fair chance to compete.
USIJ’s work reflects the urgency of this moment. In 2026, we plan to document specific innovations lost to Section 101 uncertainty, highlight the national security stakes of continued inaction, and engage with the USPTO and Department of Justice to support balanced interpretations of patent law in key cases. These efforts build on recent progress, including reforms to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which demonstrated that policy change is possible.
But administrative actions are not enough. They can be reversed. Only legislation can deliver the durable, structural reforms needed to restore confidence in the U.S. patent system.
The United States stands at an inflection point. With a receptive Congress, an administration committed to strengthening intellectual property protections, and growing recognition of the economic and security implications of innovation policy, the opportunity is real. Passage of PERA would mark a decisive step toward rebalancing the system, empowering startups and inventors, and securing America’s innovation leadership for the next generation.
USIJ stands ready to help lead that effort.