[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6245 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6245

To amend chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, to provide for the 
 recovery of computer hardware and software patent litigation costs in 
  cases where the court finds the claimant did not have a reasonable 
           likelihood of succeeding, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2012

  Mr. DeFazio (for himself and Mr. Chaffetz) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, to provide for the 
 recovery of computer hardware and software patent litigation costs in 
  cases where the court finds the claimant did not have a reasonable 
           likelihood of succeeding, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saving High-Tech Innovators from 
Egregious Legal Disputes Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS FOR COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 
              PATENT.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 285 the following new section:
``Sec. 285A. Recovery of litigation costs for computer hardware and 
              software patent
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 285, in an action 
disputing the validity or alleging the infringement of a computer 
hardware or software patent, upon making a determination that the party 
alleging the infringement of the patent did not have a reasonable 
likelihood of succeeding, the court may award the recovery of full 
costs to the prevailing party, including reasonable attorney's fees, 
other than the United States.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Computer.--The term `computer' means an electronic, 
        magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high-speed data 
        processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage 
        functions, and includes--
                    ``(A) any data storage facility or communications 
                facility directly related to or operating in 
                conjunction with such device; and
                    ``(B) any processor or peripheral, such as a 
                monitor or input device, directly related to or 
                operating in conjunction with such device.
            ``(2) Computer hardware patent.--The term `computer 
        hardware patent' means a patent that covers computer hardware, 
        including a device or component of such device.
            ``(3) Software patent.--The term `software patent' means a 
        patent that covers--
                    ``(A) any process that could be implemented in a 
                computer regardless of whether a computer is 
                specifically mentioned in the patent; or
                    ``(B) any computer system that is programmed to 
                perform a process described in subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 285 the following new item:

        ``285A. Recovery of litigation costs for computer hardware and 
                            software patent.''.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section, or the 
amendments made by this section, shall be construed as amending or 
interpreting categories of patent-eligible subject matter set forth 
under section 101 of title 35, United States Code.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to 
any action involving the validity or infringement of a computer 
hardware or software patent (as such terms are defined under section 
285A of title 35, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) for 
which a complaint is filed on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
                                 <all>