H.R. 5478 · 116th Congress
Inventor Rights Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
DavisSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes additional protections for a patent owned by the inventor of the patented invention or an entity controlled by that inventor.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Dec 18, 2019
Inventor Rights Act
This bill establishes additional protections for a patent owned by the inventor of the patented invention or an entity controlled by that inventor.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shall not reexamine or review an inventor-owned patent after issuance without the owner's consent.
For venue purposes, a lawsuit involving an inventor-owned patent may be brought in the judicial district where (1) the inventor conducted research or development on the patented invention; or (2) a party has a regular and established facility engaged in research, development, or manufacturing related to the patented invention. Currently, a patent lawsuit generally must be filed where the defendant has a regular and established place of business.
The bill also makes it easier for the owner of an inventor-owned patent to secure an injunction after a court finds patent infringement, by establishing a presumption that (1) further infringement would cause irreparable injury, and (2) remedies available at law are inadequate to compensate for that injury. Currently, the patent owner must establish these factors to get an injunction.
If a court finds that an inventor-owned patent has been infringed, the patent owner may elect to recover the infringer's profits stemming from the infringement, whereas, currently, a patent owner is generally entitled to compensation for the injury caused by the infringement. If the infringement was willful, the court may award triple damages. If the patent owner elects to recover damages under this bill, the owner shall receive attorney's fees that exceed 10% of the damages award.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Inventor Rights Act
Latest action (Jan 28, 2020): Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Policy area: Commerce · Origin: House · Introduced: Dec 18, 2019
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.