Advancing American Innovation Act

The "Advancing American Innovation Act" aims to amend Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, primarily to ensure the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) focuses its resources on protecting genuine domestic industries and safeguarding the public health, welfare, and U.S. economy. The bill modifies the definition of "domestic industry" by adding "substantial investment in licensing activities that leads to the adoption and development of articles" incorporating the intellectual property. It also clarifies that complainants cannot rely on activities by their licensees to satisfy the domestic industry requirement unless those licenses lead to the adoption and development of articles for sale in the United States, and requires any person relied upon to qualify as an industry to join the complaint under oath. The legislation introduces a requirement for the ITC to identify and conduct expedited fact-finding on dispositive issues within 100 days of an investigation's institution. Crucially, it strengthens the ITC's ability to consider the public interest , including public health and welfare, the U.S. economy, and consumer impact, when determining whether to exclude articles or issue cease and desist orders. Furthermore, the bill mandates significant transparency for third-party litigation funding in patent infringement proceedings before the ITC, requiring complainants to disclose the identity of funders and their agreements, with sanctions for non-compliance.