Jim Banks Urges Patent Reforms to Block Chinese AI Scraping

Jim Banks, a U.S. Senator from Indiana, urged the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to implement reforms to stop Chinese companies from using artificial intelligence to mine American patent applications. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Banks warned that "patent scraping" allows Chinese firms to identify biotechnology discoveries and file derivative patents at "machine speed."

Banks argued that this practice undermines incentives for U.S. research and development and increases American dependence on pharmaceutical supply chains controlled by China. He noted that the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has prioritized biotechnology as a strategic goal since the 1980s.

Additionally, the senator cautioned that low-quality, AI-generated filings could overwhelm the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by increasing examination backlogs and complicating the analysis of prior art. He called for prioritized reform to protect innovations vulnerable to AI-enabled duplication.