I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5478 
To amend title 35, United States Code, restore patent rights to inventors, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 18, 2019 
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. GOSAR) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 35, United States Code, restore patent rights 
to inventors, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inventor Rights Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Inventors have contributed significantly to 
innovation in the United States and their continued 
dedication to inventing and sharing solutions to 
modern technical challenges is essential for the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
United States to maintain leadership in the global 
economy. 
(2) Inventors, not employees or investors, are 
the source of innovation intended by the Constitu-
tion (‘‘securing to inventors’’) and the Patent Act 
‘‘(Whoever invents or discovers . . . may obtain a 
patent therefore . . .)’’. 
(3) Recent changes to patent laws and proce-
dures and Supreme Court decisions have adversely 
affected inventors such that the promise of Article 1, 
section 8 of the Constitution of ‘‘securing for limited 
times to inventors the exclusive right to their discov-
eries’’ is no longer attainable. 
(4) Inventors are denied the fundamental right 
to ‘‘exclude others’’ by the Supreme Court’s 2006 
decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, LLC. 
(5) Inventors were stripped of the right to file 
suit in their own judicial district by the Supreme 
Court’s 2017 decision in TC Heartland LLC v. 
Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC. 
(6) Issued patents fail to secure to inventors 
their exclusive rights because— 
(A) the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in-
stitutes trials in over 60 percent of cases and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
invalidates one or more claims in over 80 per-
cent of trials which reach a final decision; 
(B) many patents are subjected to multiple 
post issuance reviews; or 
(C) most inventors cannot afford the costs 
of defending a patent challenged in a single 
post issuance review, as these costs can reach 
hundreds of thousand of dollars. 
(7) Infringement trials can cost tens of millions 
of dollars and can take up to ten years to reach a 
final judgment after all appeals, making legal relief 
unattainable for inventors. 
(8) These obstacles have given rise to an ‘‘effi-
cient infringement’’ business model whereby large 
corporations infringe patent rights held by inventors 
without concern for any legal consequences. 
(9) Patent protection has led to patient cures, 
positive changes to the standard of living for all peo-
ple in the United States, and improvements to the 
agricultural, telecommunications, software, biotech, 
pharmaceutical and electronics industries, among 
others. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
SEC. 3. INVENTOR PROTECTIONS. 
(a) INVENTOR-OWNED PATENT.—Section 100 of title 
35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(k) The term ‘inventor-owned patent’ means a pat-
ent with respect to which the inventor of the invention 
claimed by the patent or an entity controlled by that in-
ventor— 
‘‘(1) is the patentee; and 
‘‘(2) holds all substantial rights.’’. 
(b) INVENTOR-OWNED
PATENT
PROTECTIONS.— 
Chapter 32 of title 35, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 330. Inventor protections 
‘‘(a) PROTECTION
FROM
POST
ISSUANCE
PRO-
CEEDINGS IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADE-
MARK OFFICE.—The United States Patent and Trade-
mark Office shall not undertake a proceeding to reexam-
ine, review, or otherwise make a determination about the 
validity of an inventor-owned patent without the consent 
of the patentee. 
‘‘(b) CHOICE OF VENUE.—Any civil action for in-
fringement of an inventor-owned patent or any action for 
a declaratory judgment that an inventor-owned patent is 
invalid or not infringed may be brought in a judicial dis-
trict— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
‘‘(1) in accordance with section 1400(b) of title 
28; 
‘‘(2) where the defendant has agreed or con-
sented to be sued in the instant action; 
‘‘(3) where an inventor named on the patent in 
suit conducted research or development that led to 
the application for the patent in suit; 
‘‘(4) where a party has a regular and estab-
lished physical facility that such party controls and 
operates, not primarily for the purpose of creating 
venue, and has— 
‘‘(A) engaged in management of significant 
research and development of an invention 
claimed in a patent in suit prior to the effective 
filing date of the patent; 
‘‘(B) manufactured a tangible good that is 
alleged to embody an invention claimed in a 
patent in suit; or 
‘‘(C) implemented a manufacturing process 
for a tangible good in which the process is al-
leged to embody an invention claimed in a pat-
ent in suit; or 
‘‘(5) in the case of a foreign defendant that 
does not meet the requirements of section 1400(b) 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
of title 28, in accordance with section 1391(c)(3) of 
such title. 
‘‘(c) INJUNCTION.— 
‘‘(1) PRESUMPTION.—Upon a finding by a 
court of infringement of an inventor-owned patent 
not proven invalid or unenforceable, the court shall 
presume, respectively, that— 
‘‘(A) further infringement of the patent 
would cause irreparable injury; and 
‘‘(B) remedies available at law are inad-
equate to compensate for that injury. 
‘‘(2) OVERCOMING THE PRESUMPTION.—A pre-
sumption described under subparagraphs (A) or (B) 
of paragraph (1) may be overcome if the infringing 
party shows clear and convincing evidence that the 
patentee would not be irreparably harmed by further 
infringement of the patent, including evidence of un-
reasonable delay by the patentee from the date on 
which the infringement was known or reasonably 
could have been known to the patentee. 
‘‘(d) RECOVERY.—A patentee that asserts a claim for 
infringement of an inventor-owned patent in a civil action 
under subsection (a), (b), (c), (f), or (g) of section 271 
may elect, at any time before final judgment is entered 
by the court, recovery under this subsection in lieu of dam-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
ages under section 284. If an election for recovery under 
this subsection is made, the following provisions apply 
upon a finding of infringement: 
‘‘(1) PROFIT DISGORGEMENT.—The court shall 
award the patentee the profits from the use made of 
the invention by the infringer. In assessing profits 
the patentee shall be required to prove only the in-
fringer’s revenues resulting from the infringement; 
the infringer must prove all elements of cost or de-
duction claimed. 
‘‘(2) INTEREST AND COSTS.—The court shall 
award the patentee the costs described under section 
1920 of title 28. 
‘‘(3) INFRINGEMENT FOUND WILLFUL.—If the 
court finds the infringement to be willful, the court 
may award the patentee damages equal to no more 
than three times the amount of the profits found in 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) ATTORNEYS FEES.—The court shall award 
the patentee any amount of their attorneys fees that 
exceeds 10 percent of the amount of the profits and 
damages of paragraphs (1) to (3).’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 32 of title 35, United 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘330. Inventor protections.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:09 Dec 28, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5478.IH
H5478
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS