US Inventor was founded in 2015 after the passage of the America Invents Act of 2011 and the establishment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to “restore a solid patent system that ensures small businesses and individual inventors can protect their inventions from theft, regardless of the power and influence of large corporations. Every initiative and action undertaken by US Inventor aims to restore and reinforce the integrity of the American patent system.” US Inventor is the only organization representing small inventors, businesses, and startups to enact change that supports these groups, and it has grown to about 87,000 members over the past couple of years. If you haven’t already signed the Inventor’s Rights Resolution, you may sign here.
In the past several weeks, US Inventor has been active in opposing two Senate bills that were scheduled for “mark up” by the Judiciary Committee during one of the three committee meetings scheduled in September. The bills are:
S. 2140: Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 (PERA)
Both bills were introduced during the current Congress in 2023, and I wrote about these bills in a previous blog article, summarizing the reasons why US Inventor is opposed to each bill. Briefly, US Inventor stated: “PERA must not become law without complete removal of Section 3(b)(1)(B)(i) and (ii) and its support at Section 2(5)(D)(v) and Section 2(5)(E)(i) and (ii).” The full analysis of PERA by US Inventor can be reviewed here.
US Inventor’s position on PREVAIL is that it “could be saved if it had an amendment that “offers inventors the “choice” of not being forced into the unjust PTAB administrative court, but rather being able to choose to face your infringer in a real court with a jury and Due Process.” The full analysis of PREVAIL by US Inventor can be reviewed here.
During the month of September, thousands of USI members called and wrote their Senator expressing their opposition to both bills. US Inventor also arranged Zoom meetings with staff of the Senators who are members of the Judiciary Committee. I participated with other California constituents who are inventors in Zoom meetings with the staff of California Senators Butler and Padilla.
When it was my turn to speak, I said that I was a board member of the San Diego Inventors Forum, which is one of the oldest and largest inventor groups in the country with a database of over 600 inventors, entrepreneurs, and service providers. We have noticed that the threat of having the Patent Review and Trial Board (PTAB) invalidate a patent is discouraging inventors from applying for a patent, and they are going to other countries to get their patents. Even China has a more secure patent system, so inventors are giving their technologies to China when they get a patent there.
It is also causing more inventors to focus on getting licensing agreements instead of starting companies. The danger is that the some of the large corporations they approach for a licensing agreement steal the technology and dare the inventor to sue them for infringement because they know the case will be handled by PTAB where the inventor’s patent will be invalidated. In addition, the lack of secure patent rights is also hindering the willingness of angel investors to invest in new technologies for startup companies.
US Inventor held their second annual conference, From Dreamers to Decision-Makers, on September 26th-28th in Washington, D.C. where several inventors shared their stories of having their patents infringed and then invalidated by the PTAB. The bills mentioned above were discussed in detail during the conference as well as the two new bills introduced last spring:
HR 8134, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA), introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
HR 8132, the Balancing Incentives Act (BIA) introduced by rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Attendees had been encouraged to come a day early to visit the offices of their Senators to express their opinions on patent legislation. Many were able to make arrangements to meet with the staff of their Senators and express their opinions about the bills. That same day, Dirk Tomsin of US Inventor hand delivered 7,350 letters to their Senator’s offices, along with petitions signed by over 4,500 signatories.
It appears that as a result of these efforts, the bills were not considered by the Judiciary committee for “mark up” during any of their September meetings. Congress is now in recess until after the election. However, the danger is that Congress will be in session for five weeks before the end of this session of Congress, so these bills could still be scheduled for “mark up” during that brief session.
The Senators comprising the Judiciary Committee are:
Chairman, Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Ranking member, Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Majority Members
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Chris Coons (D-DE)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Jon Ossoff (D-GA)
Alex Padilla (D-CA)
Peter Welch (D-VT)
Laphonza Butler (D-CA)
Minority Members
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
John Kennedy (R-LA)
Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Suppose any of the above Senators are your Senators. In that case, I urge you to contact their offices and express your opposition to PERA and PREVAIL unless PREVAIL is amended as suggested above. You can call the U.S. House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to connect to your Senator’s office.