The Foreign Adversary Patent Disclosure Act requires people filing patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to disclose any connections to foreign adversaries, specifically China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Applicants must reveal if they or anyone with ownership interest in the invention were employed by entities controlled by these countries, received funding from state-affiliated research programs, or received other financial incentives from these nations within the previous five years. The Patent and Trademark Office Director can request supporting documents like contracts or agreements related to these disclosures, which can be kept confidential and separate from the public patent file. Small business concerns that are already subject to other disclosure requirements under the Small Business Act are exempt from this requirement. The bill does not specify funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond the requirement that these disclosures be made at the time of patent application submission.
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