Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that changes the methods for obtaining and challenging patent claims.

Highlights:

• Prevents people from obtaining patents for claimed inventions that have already had patent applications filed by a different inventor (Sec. 3).

• Allows a patent to be disputed up to 12 months after its issue or its published application date and requires the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to approve settlement claims (Sec. 3).

• Permits a challenged patent owner to amend patent drawings, substitute the claim, or cancel the claim (Sec. 6).

• States that any person may submit with their patent record any existing patents, published patent applications, or other publications of relevance (Sec. 9).

• Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to submit a report to Congress on the operation of prior use rights in other industrialized countries (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to award damages of three times the regular amount if a person is found guilty of willful infringement by continuing to use a patented product or idea after receiving written notification from the current patent owner (Sec. 5).

• Requires a review of the effectiveness of the patent amendments set out in this bill to be submitted to Congress every seven years (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text