The Modern IP Compliance Challenge: Managing Export Controls and Sanctions in Real Time

By Dave McEvoy, Vice President & General Counsel at Anaqua 

 

In February, I was joined by Gene Quinn, President & CEO at IPWatchdog, and Ama Adams, a Partner at Ropes & Gray, for a webinar exploring why staying compliant is becoming increasingly challenging for IP professionals. As we move further into 2026, export control and sanctions rules are evolving fast, and IP teams are feeling the pressure. Throughout our conversation, one theme stood out: the risks facing IP operations today are no longer isolated or exceptional; they’re embedded in everyday workflows.  

During the session, held in partnership with IPWatchdog, we unpacked where IP teams are most vulnerable and how routine activities, from patent drafting and foreign filings to data access and IP payments, can trigger significant compliance exposure. We also delved into what regulators are prioritizing now and how modern IP management systems can help identify, control and document sensitive IP.   

The takeaway was unmistakable: Compliance needs to be built into the way IP teams work. 

 

The Compliance Blind Spot: What Every IP Team Should Know About Export Controls 

While most IP professionals are aware of sanctions in a general sense, far fewer recognize how deeply export controls influence their everyday work. These rules sit at the heart of many IP workflows—often in ways teams don’t fully see. Export controls govern the transfer or access of certain technologies, software and technical data, and in the IP world, that can mean everything from invention disclosures and source code to early-stage R&D documents. 

What many teams overlook is that an “export” extends far beyond shipping physical goods.  Regulators broadly define the term as releasing controlled technology or technical data to a foreign person or jurisdiction. In practice, that can include sharing source code, engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, instruction manuals, or even technical emails. 

For IP teams, this means that routine activities, like circulating an invention of disclosure, collaborating on a patent draft or allowing overseas colleagues to access a US‑hosted IP system, may constitute an export. Even drafting a patent application involving controlled technology can trigger export control obligations if overseas team members contribute to or view the document. To highlight how subtle these risks can be, Gene Quinn offered an important reminder: 

 

"Lawyers step across the line unintentionally often. It's not an issue until somebody starts looking. And once they do, and think you've done something wrong, they will start digging to find everything else." - Gene Quinn

Prevention starts with recognizing hidden exposures long before regulators begin looking.

 

Growing Regulatory Risk: Why Compliance Has Become a Daily Challenge 

Over the past few decades, we’ve seen the compliance environment tighten significantly. In 2025 alone, more than $360 million in export-control and sanctions penalties were issued in the US. Regulators have broadened their lenses. Instead of focusing only on physical exports, they’re increasingly examining how companies handle controlled technical data, who can access it and how that information moves across borders. 

For IP teams, this shift is especially significant. Their work is central to R&D, engineering and legal - meaning we routinely handle invention disclosures, early-stage research, drawings, source code and patent drafts. These materials fall squarely within the scope of what regulators consider sensitive.  

As global collaboration accelerates, the risk of unintentionally releasing controlled data grows. It is imperative that compliance is addressed from the moment ideas are documented and shared. Ama Adams captured this clearly, as she recalled: 

 

"R&D collaborations are at the heart of strategic commercial transactions, but they also create national security risks. The question is how to protect legitimate business while still protecting US national security." - Ama Adams

IP teams must balance innovation with compliance to keep global workflows secure and efficient.

 

With geopolitical dynamics evolving and sanctions changing at speed, staying compliant requires constant vigilance. The rules can change overnight, and when they do, the impact on global IP workflows is immediate. 

 

Sanctions: When Routine IP Operations Become Compliance Risks  

Sanctions can feel like a distant political issue, but in reality, they can disrupt some of the most routine IP activities. Patent and trademark offices are government-linked entities, meaning that a single change to a sanctions list can halt your ability to make required renewal or filing payments. 

At Anaqua, we process over 1.3 million annuity and renewal payments yearly, which means we see how quickly these shifts can hit global IP teams. We’ve experienced scenarios where an entire country’s IP payment routes became prohibited overnight due to a sanctioned bank, leaving organizations scrambling to stay compliant and maintain their portfolios. 

For several IP teams, the biggest risk isn’t intentional wrongdoing - it's not knowing when an agent, sub-agent or intermediary bank has been added to a restricted list. That’s why our compliance workflows continuously screen global partners and payment paths, helping clients avoid surprises that derail business-critical deadlines. 

 

When Sanctions Disrupt IP Workflows 

A clear example occurred in Iran, where sanctions effectively shut down the industry’s only viable payment route overnight. For a time, all payments to the Iranian IP Office were routed through Bank Melli. When Bank Melli was added to the U.S. sanctions list, every organization with Iranian IP instantly lost its legal way to process renewals or filings.  

At Anaqua, we secured specific OFAC licenses so clients could continue managing their portfolios where permissible, ensuring they stayed compliant while much of the industry was forced to halt activity.  Incidents like this underline a broader truth: IP teams often don’t see the full chain of agents, sub-agents, and banks involved in their routine filings. That lack of visibility becomes a direct operational risk when sanctions shift overnight. 

 

Operational Risks for IP teams 

Beyond sanctions events, most IP teams face operational exposure every single day, often without knowing it. Global IP maintenance requires working with layers of agents, sub-agents, and banks. Very few organizations have full visibility across that chain.  

At Anaqua, we have 350+ agents worldwide, and we consistently see that even sophisticated IP teams don't always know who processes their payments, which intermediary banks are involved or when a party becomes restricted overnight. With approximately 20 high-risk countries and constantly shifting sanctions lists, this lack of transparency can lead to accidental violations through blind spots in the process. 

Anaqua’s approach is designed to remove that uncertainty. Our compliance framework continuously screens every agent, sub‑agent, and financial institution involved in each payment route. If something changes, we detect it early and help clients redirect activity before deadlines or compliance obligations are impacted. Put simply, our goal is to ensure clients stay protected before they’re exposed, not after. 

 

Recent Changes: Why Modern IP Systems Must Evolve with Regulations 

Export control rules have changed profoundly in the past few years, particularly in the high-tech sectors. A few years ago, the U.S introduced new classifications for semiconductors, and overnight many companies discovered that their R&D, data and invention disclosures now fell under more restrictive controls. 

At Anaqua, we work with over 30 clients in the semiconductor industry and saw how quickly in-house teams had to adapt. Several brought in trade control specialists; others re-engineered their workflows, and many turned to technology to help them tag, track and control sensitive data across global teams.  

A recent example of how organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to adapt is our partnership with Advantest, a global leader in semiconductor test technology who selected AQX® to support their innovation strategy. You can read more about the partnership here. 

The automotive sector is undergoing a similar transformation as vehicles incorporate more advanced electronics and AI driven systems, all areas now increasingly subject to export controls. This is why platforms like AQX are crucial for our clients. Our system enables organizations to identify export-controlled records, restrict access to sensitive material, and maintain a clear audit trail across global teams. We’re continuing to enhance these capabilities because the pace of regulatory change isn’t slowing down.  

 

Key Questions to Consider  

As export control obligations become more closely tied to everyday IP work, Ama Adams encouraged teams to start with four essential questions: 

• What is the data? 

• Is it controlled technology? 

• Who can access it? 

• Do you need an export‑control license to allow that access? 

These may seem simple, but they form the foundation of a strong compliance framework, especially as global collaboration accelerates, and data moves more freely across borders. Ama put it this way:  

 "A robust IP management system is essential for identifying and controlling access to sensitive material.” - Ama Adams
You can't manage risk without knowing who can see what.

 

The IP Teams That Succeed Build Compliance into Their Everyday 

As regulations continue to evolve, one thing has become clear: compliance can’t sit on the sidelines of IP operations anymore. Export controls and sanctions touch so many routine tasks, from drafting and collaboration to cross‑border access and payments, that they must be addressed directly in the systems and workflows teams rely on every day. 

For us at Anaqua, the priority is helping organizations bring that visibility and structure into their IP processes. Whether it’s identifying controlled data, managing who can access it or keeping ahead of sanctions that can disrupt global filings, the right technology can give teams the confidence that they’re protected, not exposed. 

Compliance isn’t getting simpler. But with the right approach and the right tools, it becomes manageable, predictable, and far less disruptive to the business. 

 

Watch the webinar here or contact us to learn more