[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6557 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6557
To amend title 35, United States Code, to restore patent rights to
inventors, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 26, 2018
Mr. Rohrabacher introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 35, United States Code, to restore patent rights to
inventors, 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 ``Inventor Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Inventors have historically contributed significantly
to innovation in the United States, and their continued
dedication to inventing and sharing solutions to modern
technical challenges is essential for the United States to
maintain leadership in the global economy.
(2) Inventors, not employees or investors, are the source
of innovation intended by the Constitution (``securing to
inventors'') and the Patent Act (``Whoever invents or discovers
. . . may obtain a patent therefore . . . ).
(3) Recent changes to patent laws and procedures and
Supreme Court decisions have adversely affected inventors such
that the promise of article I, section 8 of the Constitution of
``securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right
to their discoveries'' is no longer attainable.
(4) Inventors are denied the fundamental right to ``exclude
others'' by the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in eBay Inc. v.
MercExchange, L.L.C.
(5) Inventors were stripped of the right to file suit in
their own judicial district by the Supreme Court's 2017
decision in TC Heartland L.L.C. v. Kraft Foods Group Brands
L.L.C.
(6) Issued patents fail to secure inventors their exclusive
rights because--
(A) the Patent Trial and Appeal Board declares 85
percent of granted patents invalid in postgrant
reviews;
(B) many patents are subjected to multiple
postgrant reviews; and
(C) most inventors cannot afford the costs of
defending a patent challenged in a single postgrant
review, as these costs can reach hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
(7) Infringement trials can cost tens of millions of
dollars and can take up to ten years to reach a final judgment
after all appeals, making legal relief unattainable for
inventors.
(8) These obstacles have given rise to an ``efficient
infringement'' business model whereby large corporations
infringe patent rights held by inventors without concern for
any legal consequences.
(9) Patent protection has led to patient cures, positive
changes to the standard of living for all people in the United
States, and improvements to the agricultural,
telecommunications, software, biotech, pharmaceutical, and
electronics industries, among others.
SEC. 3. INVENTOR PROTECTIONS.
(a) Inventor-Owned Patent.--Section 100 of title 35, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) The term `inventor-owned patent' means a patent held entirely
by the inventor of the claimed invention.''.
(b) Inventor-Owned Patent Protections.--Chapter 32 of title 35,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 330. INVENTOR PROTECTIONS.
``(a) Patent and Trademark Office Sole Jurisdiction.--No executive
entity other than the Patent and Trademark Office may reexamine,
review, or otherwise make a determination about the validity of an
inventor-owned patent.
``(b) Protection From Administrative Proceedings.--The Patent and
Trade Office may not reexamine, review, or otherwise make a
determination about the validity of an inventor-owned patent unless
voluntarily agreed to by the inventor.
``(c) Choice of Venue.--
``(1) In general.--An inventor may bring a civil action
involving an inventor-owned patent in any district where the
defendant is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction or
where the defendant has committed an act of infringement,
regardless of whether the defendant has a regular and
established place of business in such district.
``(2) Venue for declaratory judgment claim.--If an inventor
is a citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United
States, any claim for declaratory judgement relating to any
inventor-owned patent the inventor owns may only be entered in
the district where such inventor is domiciled or a district for
which such inventor has consented to jurisdiction.
``(3) Transfer of action involving inventor.--If an
inventor is a party to a civil action involving an inventor-
owned patent the inventor owns, the court may not transfer the
action to another district for convenience without consent of
the inventor.
``(d) Expedited Judicial Proceedings.--Unless voluntarily waived,
an inventor asserting an inventor-owned patent in a civil action under
section 281 shall be entitled to--
``(1) a trial within 12 months after service of a
complaint, with prioritization in the court's docket, if
necessary;
``(2) a trial no more than 7 days in duration;
``(3) a maximum of 10 discovery requests for each party;
``(4) pleadings limited to 100,000 words per party; and
``(5) such other provisions as the court determines
appropriate to ensure relief is accessible to the inventor.
``(e) Presumption of Irreparable Harm.--
``(1) Presumption.--Upon finding infringement of an
inventor-owned patent, the court shall presume that any
infringement of such patent causes the inventor irreparable
harm.
``(2) Overcoming the presumption.--The presumption
described in paragraph (1) may be overcome if the infringing
party shows clear and convincing evidence that the inventor
would not be irreparably harmed by further infringement of the
patent.
``(f) Simplified Damages.--
``(1) Alternative relief.--An inventor that asserts a claim
for infringement of an inventor-owned patent in a civil action
under section 281 may elect relief under this subsection in
lieu of relief under section 284.
``(2) Relief under this subsection.--If a request for
relief under this subsection is made, the following provisions
apply:
``(A) In general.--Upon a finding of infringement,
the court shall award damages equal to the sum of--
``(i) the greater of--
``(I) the total profits
attributable to the infringing party's
use of the patented invention; or
``(II) 25 percent of the sales
attributable to the infringing party's
use of the patented invention; and
``(ii) any interest and costs as fixed by
the court.
``(B) Infringement found willful.--
``(i) Treble damages available.--If the
court finds the infringement to be willful, the
court may award damages equal to no more than
three times the amount of any damages found in
subparagraph (A), but shall not include any
royalty payments.
``(ii) Presumption of willfulness.--
Infringement shall be presumed willful if the
infringing party is an expert in the field of
the invention.
``(C) Attorneys fees.--If an inventor successfully
brings a claim for infringement of their inventor-owned
patent, the court shall award the inventor any amount
of their attorneys fees that exceeds 10 percent of the
amount of any damages the court awards to the
inventor.''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 32 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``330. Inventor protections.''.
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