Big Changes in US International IP Policy: The 2026 USTR Special 301 Report

Steve Bauer spent most of his career at Medtronic and 3M, representing medical device business units and in several legal management roles. In his last role before retirement, Steve handled International IP and IP Policy for Medtronic. Steve has served in several roles in IPO including Co-Chair of the IPO International Patent Law and Trade Committee, Vice Chair of the Asian Practice Committee, and on the IPO Board in 2016. In his retirement, he has continued to volunteer for IPO including on the IPO Special 301 Comment team.

Jake Ewerdt is the Senior Counsel for Global IP Policy at Qualcomm where he provides strategic guidance on global intellectual property and standards policy with a focus on emerging issues in patent protection, licensing, and enforcement. Previously, Mr. Ewerdt served in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) within the Executive Office of the President, where he developed, shaped, and implemented U.S. trade policy on intellectual property. He represented the U.S. at the WTO TRIPS Council, negotiated the IP Chapter of a draft U.S. trade agreement, and engaged with IP and trade authorities across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. Before USTR, Mr. Ewerdt litigated patent disputes at a global law firm, clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and advised Administrative Law Judges at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Mr. Ewerdt is an inventor, a registered USPTO patent attorney, and holds a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Dean Harts is Vice President and Associate Chief IP Counsel at 3M, where he leads key intellectual property initiatives, including 3M’s Global Trade Secret Protection Program, which he has managed for about 14 years. He previously served as interim Chief Privacy Officer for 3M and later supported the company’s Data Protection, Privacy, and Cybersecurity legal function before fully returning to the IP group in 2025. He also led 3M’s International IP Operations, overseeing more than 50 IP professionals across 15 countries, after serving as Managing IP Counsel for several business groups. His IP experience spans patent, trade secret, and trademark strategy, agreements, enforcement, and counseling across multiple areas of the business.  Dean is Co-Chair of the IPO International Patent Law & Trade Committee and a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets. He holds a J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota; a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; and is CIPP/US certified.

Sanjeev Mahanta is a patent counsel at Merck. His role includes patent prosecution in pharmaceuticals, both small and large molecules, and providing IP support for due diligence and transactions related to business development. Prior to joining Merck, Sanjeev worked at U.S. law firms as a patent associate. Before starting his career in patent law, Sanjeev was a scientist. Sanjeev has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and carried out post-doctoral research work at Harvard University and NYU Medical Center.

Astrid Roe is the Legal & Policy Associate at the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), where she advocates for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the U.S. and internationally. Astrid serves as Staff Liaison to the IPO International Patent Law & Trade Committee and helps organize IPO’s Special 301 comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative each year. Astrid obtained her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 2023 and is licensed to practice in New York and Washington, D.C.