PACES Act

Summary: Protect Advanced Communications for Emergency Services Act of 2013 or the PACES Act - Requires any patent infringement action against certain wireless carriers (excluding mobile satellite service operators) or IP-enabled voice service providers based on their use of technologies&nbsp;complying&nbsp;with&nbsp;requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide 9-1-1, enhanced 9-1-1, or other emergency communications services (such as the delivery of 9-1-1 calls with&nbsp;next generation text, picture, and video technologies capable of&nbsp;automatically&nbsp;identifying number and location information to emergency service personnel) to be filed in accordance with federal judicial code procedures under which a patent or copyright owner's remedy is by an action against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. (Thus, specifies that such 9-1-1 services are provided by&nbsp;or for the United States with authorization or consent of the United States.)

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Advanced Communications for 
Emergency Services Act of 2013'' or the ``PACES Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) there are an estimated 302,000,000 active wireless 
        mobile device users in the United States with an estimated 
        51,000,000 people in the United States living in households 
        that rely solely on wireless communication devices (almost 25 
        percent of households in the United States), of which 
        21,000,000 are children;
            (2) people in the United States make more than 300,000 
        wireless E-9-1-1 (enhanced 9-1-1) calls daily;
            (3) a majority of 9-1-1 calls now originate from mobile 
        devices, making an advanced wireless 9-1-1 service system a 
        critical national asset for law enforcement, homeland security, 
        and emergency responders who rely on this wireless location-
        based information to effectively dispatch assistance;
            (4) the Federal Communications Commission mandates all 
        wireless phone carriers and IP-enabled voice service providers 
        to provide services enabling users to dial 9-1-1 with a stated 
        purpose of allowing government first responders, homeland 
        security, police, fire and other government public safety 
        officials the ability to accurately locate 9-1-1 callers using 
        wireless devices;
            (5) the growing reliance of the people of the United States 
        and public safety, homeland security, and law enforcement 
        officials on emerging wireless technologies is leading to the 
        need for national text to 9-1-1, as well as picture and video 
        9-1-1 capabilities from mobile devices;
            (6) emerging technologies can be a critical component of 
        the end-to-end communications infrastructure connecting the 
        public with emergency medical service providers and emergency 
        dispatch providers, public safety, fire service, and law 
        enforcement officials, and hospital emergency and trauma care 
        facilities, to reduce emergency response times and provide 
        appropriate care;
            (7) improved public safety remains an important public 
        health objective of Federal, State, and local governments and 
        substantially facilitates interstate and foreign commerce;
            (8) wireless carriers and their vendors, in complying with 
        the Federal mandate to provide E-9-1-1 location-based 
        technology, have become targets of or been impacted by patent 
        infringement lawsuits;
            (9) patent infringement lawsuits brought by what the 
        Federal Trade Commission has termed ``Patent Assertion 
        Entities'' are--
                    (A) compromising the ability of wireless carriers 
                to provide current wireless 9-1-1 services; and
                    (B) deterring the implementation of innovative new 
                technologies that could meet next generation 9-1-1 
                public safety needs such as text, picture, and video 9-
                1-1 capabilities;
            (10) section 1498 of title 28, United States Code, was 
        designed to protect those required by the Government to provide 
        a service ``by or for the United States'' while also providing 
        legitimate patent holders with an appropriate means to recover 
        reasonable and entire compensation for their patents;
            (11) this Act clarifies that patented technologies required 
        to provide 9-1-1, enhanced 9-1-1, and other emergency 
        communication services, as defined in section 7 of the Wireless 
        Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b), 
        are provided by and for the United States and with the 
        authorization or consent of the United States for the purposes 
        of section 1498 of title 28, United States Code; and
            (12) this Act does not modify or invalidate any patent, 
        preserves all patent claims, and does not prevent patent 
        litigation.

SEC. 3. JURISDICTION FOR CLAIMS REGARDING OTHER EMERGENCY SERVICES.

    Section 1498 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) Jurisdiction for Claims Regarding 9-1-1, Enhanced 9-1-1, or 
Other Emergency Communication Service.--Beginning after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, any action under section 271 of title 35 
against a wireless carrier subject to section 20.18 of title 47, Code 
of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, or an IP-enable voice 
service provider subject to section 6(a) of the Wireless Communications 
and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a-1(a)), regarding the 
provision of 9-1-1, enhanced 9-1-1, or other emergency communications 
service (as defined in section 7 of the Wireless Communications and 
Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b)), shall be filed in 
accordance with this section.''.