PREVAIL Act
Bipartisan Bill Proposes Major Reforms to Protect US Patents and Stop Fee Diversion
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
↔Companion bill: House Committee Weighs PREVAIL Act to Tighten Patent Challenge Rules and Boost TransparencyLegislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill aims to protect American inventors by making it harder for companies to challenge existing patents. It requires people who want to cancel a patent to prove it is invalid using 'clear and convincing evidence,' which is a higher standard than the one currently used by the government's patent review board.
- The policy prevents 'double-dipping' by requiring challengers to choose one place to fight a patent. If a company chooses to challenge a patent through the Patent Office, they generally cannot use the same arguments to fight that patent in a regular court at the same time.
- It changes who is allowed to challenge a patent. Under these rules, a person or company can only try to cancel a patent if they have actually been sued for using it, have been threatened with a lawsuit, or can prove they are honestly planning to use the technology in a way that might lead to a legal dispute.
- The bill ensures that all fees paid by inventors to the Patent and Trademark Office stay within that agency. Currently, some of that money can be taken by the general government for other uses; this change creates a permanent fund to make sure the money is used only to process applications and run patent programs.
- Small businesses and universities would get extra help, including expanded access to lower 'micro-entity' fees for college researchers. The Patent Office would also be required to provide its professional search tools and training materials online for free so that everyday people can research inventions without paying high costs.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
Administrative patent judges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board face new procedural rules, including a formal code of conduct, restrictions on supervisory influence over panel decisions, and a requirement that judges who decide whether to start a review cannot then hear the same case. These changes restructure how PTAB judges do their work, adding transparency but also new constraints on their roles.
Activities
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
3 articlesPatent Reform in the Pipeline: Implications for Industry
Reintroduced in May 2025, the PREVAIL Act proposes reforms to the PTAB to create a more efficient process by limiting simultaneous challenges in the Patent Office and district courts. It requires standing for challengers and aligns evidentiary standards with those used in federal courts.
The PREVAIL Act Is Back. Will It Prevail This Time?
Senators Coons and Tillis reintroduced the PREVAIL Act on May 1, 2025. Key provisions include imposing a presumption of validity requiring 'clear and convincing' evidence for invalidity and precluding defendants from bringing PTAB challenges if they are already litigating in District Court.
PREVAIL Act Advances to the Senate: Potential Implications for Patent Challenges
The Act aims to reform PTAB procedures to limit Inter Partes Review. It introduces a standing requirement similar to Article III standing, meaning only those sued or threatened with a lawsuit can challenge a patent, and raises the burden of proof to the 'clear and convincing' standard.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
PREVAIL Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(3)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.