The 2025 Special 301: A Welcomed Course Correction on IP

On April 29, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its highly anticipated 2025 Special 301 report, detailing the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights. This year's report is particularly significant due to the change in Administration and the notable omissions in the 2024 report that raised serious concerns among America's industries.

Fortunately, 2025’s report re-establishes America’s long-standing leadership on IP rights.

Key Changes in 2025

The 2025 report addresses several critical issues that were highlighted by stakeholders last year:

1. TRIPS Waiver : New language is added noting the negative impact of the TRIPS waiver expansion, which “furthered a false narrative about the role of IP and access to medicines.”
2. Compulsory Licensing : The report highlights Colombia's use of compulsory licensing (CLs) and concerns with the use of CLs as a tool to advance industrial policy, provide advantage to domestic companies, and create undue leverage in pricing negotiations.
3. Support for U.S. Innovators : New language emphasizes the importance of providing U.S. innovators with full and fair opportunities to use their IP and calls out foreign markets that fail to appropriately recognize the value of innovative medicines and medical devices.
4. Mexico : Mexico is now placed on the Priority Watch List due to long-standing IP concerns under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The report highlights issues related to “enforcement against counterfeiting and piracy, protection of pharmaceutical-related IP, and pre-established damages for copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting.”
5. Patents : The report reinserts language on Argentina's patentability issues, adds language on Canada’s patent term extension system, and calls out shortcomings in Indonesia's new Patent Law.
6. Piracy: The report welcomes Peru's efforts to criminalize unauthorized camcording or reproduction of motion picture audiovisual works in cinemas. It also adds India to the list of markets that commonly use stream-ripping software to create infringing copies of copyrighted works from licensed streaming sites, now the dominant method of music piracy.

Why It Matters: These developments are crucial for ensuring that America's IP is protected in the global knowledge economy. USTR's acknowledgment of these issues and the inclusion of new, bolstered language addressing key concerns represents a positive step towards reinforcing U.S. global trade leadership. For America to succeed in the 21st century and beyond, USTR must continue to engage on these critical trade issues and work stakeholders to create more effective ecosystems for innovation and creativity abroad through stronger IP.

About the author

Ryan Denson

Ryan Denson is Manager for International IP for the Global Innovation Policy Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.