serted claim. The Judicial Conference should exercise 
the authority under section 2073 of title 28, United 
States Code, to make recommendations with respect to 
such new form or forms. 
(e) PROTECTION
OF INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY LI-
CENSES IN BANKRUPTCY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 1522 of title 11, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(e) Section 365(n) shall apply to cases under this 
chapter. If the foreign representative rejects or repudiates 
a contract under which the debtor is a licensor of intellec-
tual property, the licensee under such contract shall be enti-
tled to make the election and exercise the rights described 
in section 365(n).’’. 
(2) TRADEMARKS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(35A) of title 
11, United States Code, is amended— 
(i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
‘‘or’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
‘‘title 17;’’ and inserting ‘‘title 17; or’’; and 
(iii) by adding after subparagraph (F) 
the following new subparagraph: 
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‘‘(G) a trademark, service mark, or trade 
name, as those terms are defined in section 45 of 
the Act of July 5, 1946 (commonly referred to as 
the ‘Trademark Act of 1946’) (15 U.S.C. 1127);’’. 
(B) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
365(n)(2) of title 11, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘royalty pay-
ments’’ and inserting ‘‘royalty or other 
payments’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
the period at the end of clause (ii) and in-
serting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) in the case of a trademark, service 
mark, or trade name, the licensee shall not be re-
lieved of any of its obligations to maintain the 
quality of the products and services offered under 
or in connection with the licensed trademark, 
service mark, or trade name, and the trustee 
shall retain the right to oversee and enforce qual-
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ity control for such products or services, or 
both.’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall apply to any case 
that is pending on, or for which a petition or com-
plaint is filed on or after, such date of enactment. 
(f) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference 
of the United States, with the assistance of the Director of 
the Federal Judicial Center and the Director of the Admin-
istrative Office of the United States Courts, shall prepare 
and transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on dis-
covery proceedings in cases pertaining to litigation involv-
ing patent laws of the United States. The report shall con-
tain, after looking at data compiled for the previous two 
years before the date of the enactment of this Act, the fol-
lowing: 
(1) The percentage of courts that have distinct 
phases of discovery in the court rules. 
(2) A description of at least two of the defini-
tions of such phases. 
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(3) Identify by name any court that does not 
have such distinct phases and a description of why 
such courts have not implemented such phases. 
(4) With regard to proceedings in courts that 
have phases, in the case of a discovery proceeding that 
extends beyond the core documents phase, a descrip-
tion of— 
(A) what additional discovery was requested 
and any consistent pattern or trend in the rea-
sons or justifications for the request; 
(B) how much longer, on average, the pro-
ceedings lasted than those settled within the first 
phase; and 
(C) any patterns for the courts that repeat-
edly have extended requests. 
(5) Looking at proceedings in the courts that do 
not have phase rules, a description of— 
(A) how long, on average, the discovery pro-
ceedings last; and 
(B) the scope of the requests. 
SEC. 7. SMALL BUSINESS EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND IN-
FORMATION ACCESS. 
(a) SMALL BUSINESS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 
(1) RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS.—Using 
existing resources, the Director shall develop edu-
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cational resources for small businesses to address con-
cerns arising from patent infringement. 
(2) SMALL BUSINESS PATENT OUTREACH.—The 
existing small business patent outreach programs of 
the Office, and the relevant offices at the Small Busi-
ness Administration and the Minority Business De-
velopment Agency, shall provide education and 
awareness on abusive patent litigation practices. The 
Director may give special consideration to the unique 
needs of small firms owned by disabled veterans, serv-
ice-disabled veterans, women, and minority entre-
preneurs in planning and executing the outreach ef-
forts by the Office. 
(b) IMPROVING INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY
FOR 
SMALL BUSINESS AND THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND 
TRADEMARK OFFICE USERS.— 
(1) WEB SITE.—Using existing resources, the Di-
rector shall create a user-friendly section on the offi-
cial Web site of the Office to notify the public when 
a patent case is brought in Federal court and, with 
respect to each patent at issue in such case, the Direc-
tor shall include— 
(A) information disclosed under subsections 
(b) and (d) of section 290 of title 35, United 
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(B) to examine the economic impact that 
the patent secondary market has on the United 
States; 
(C) to examine licensing and other oversight 
requirements that may be placed on the patent 
secondary market, including on the participants 
in such markets, to ensure that the market is a 
level playing field and that brokers in the market 
have the requisite expertise and adhere to ethical 
business practices; and 
(D) to examine the requirements placed on 
other markets. 
(2) REPORT
ON
STUDY.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Director shall submit a report to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on the find-
ings and recommendations of the Director from the 
study required under paragraph (1). 
(b) STUDY
ON PATENTS OWNED
BY
THE UNITED 
STATES GOVERNMENT.— 
(1) STUDY
REQUIRED.—The Director, in con-
sultation with the heads of relevant agencies and in-
terested parties, shall, using existing resources of the 
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Office, conduct a study on patents owned by the 
United States Government that— 
(A) examines how such patents are licensed 
and sold, and any litigation relating to the li-
censing or sale of such patents; 
(B) provides legislative and administrative 
recommendations on whether there should be re-
strictions placed on patents acquired from the 
United States Government; 
(C) examines whether or not each relevant 
agency maintains adequate records on the pat-
ents owned by such agency, specifically whether 
such agency addresses licensing, assignment, and 
Government grants for technology related to such 
patents; and 
(D) provides recommendations to ensure 
that each relevant agency has an adequate point 
of contact that is responsible for managing the 
patent portfolio of the agency. 
(2) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Direc-
tor shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the findings 
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and recommendations of the Director from the study 
required under paragraph (1). 
(c) STUDY ON PATENT QUALITY AND ACCESS TO THE 
BEST INFORMATION DURING EXAMINATION.— 
(1) GAO STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall, using existing resources, con-
duct a study on patent examination at the Office and 
the technologies available to improve examination and 
improve patent quality. 
(2) CONTENTS OF THE STUDY.—The study re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(A) An examination of patent quality at the 
Office. 
(B) An examination of ways to improve 
patent quality, specifically through technology, 
that shall include examining best practices at 
foreign patent offices and the use of existing off- 
the-shelf technologies to improve patent examina-
tion. 
(C) A description of how patents are classi-
fied. 
(D) An examination of procedures in place 
to prevent double patenting through filing by ap-
plicants in multiple art areas. 
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(E) An examination of the types of off-the- 
shelf prior art databases and search software 
used by foreign patent offices and governments, 
particularly in Europe and Asia, and whether 
those databases and search tools could be used by 
the Office to improve patent examination. 
(F) An examination of any other areas the 
Comptroller General determines to be relevant. 
(3) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General shall submit to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on 
the findings and recommendations from the study re-
quired by this subsection, including recommendations 
for any changes to laws and regulations that will im-
prove the examination of patent applications and 
patent quality. 
(d) STUDY ON PATENT SMALL CLAIMS COURT.— 
(1) STUDY REQUIRED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Ad-
ministrative Office of the United States Courts, 
in consultation with the Director of the Federal 
Judicial Center and the United States Patent 
and Trademark Office, shall, using existing re-
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sources, conduct a study to examine the idea of 
developing a pilot program for patent small 
claims procedures in certain judicial districts 
within the existing patent pilot program man-
dated by Public Law 111–349. 
(B) CONTENTS
OF
STUDY.—The study 
under subparagraph (A) shall examine— 
(i) the necessary criteria for using 
small claims procedures; 
(ii) the costs that would be incurred for 
establishing, maintaining, and operating 
such a pilot program; and 
(iii) the steps that would be taken to 
ensure that the procedures used in the pilot 
program are not misused for abusive patent 
litigation. 
(2) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Direc-
tor of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts shall submit a report to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on the find-
ings and recommendations of the Director of the Ad-
ministrative Office from the study required under 
paragraph (1). 
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(e) STUDY ON DEMAND LETTERS.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Director, in consultation with 
the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall, using 
existing resources, conduct a study of the prevalence 
of the practice of sending patent demand letters in 
bad faith and the extent to which that practice may, 
through fraudulent or deceptive practices, impose a 
negative impact on the marketplace. 
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Director shall submit a report to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on the find-
ings and recommendations of the Director from the 
study required under paragraph (1). 
(3) PATENT DEMAND LETTER DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘‘patent demand letter’’ means a 
written communication relating to a patent that 
states or indicates, directly or indirectly, that the re-
cipient or anyone affiliated with the recipient is or 
may be infringing the patent. 
(f) STUDY ON BUSINESS METHOD PATENT QUALITY.— 
(1) GAO STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall, using existing resources, con-
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duct a study on the volume and nature of litigation 
involving business method patents. 
(2) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study required 
under paragraph (1) shall focus on examining the 
quality of business method patents asserted in suits 
alleging patent infringement, and may include an ex-
amination of any other areas that the Comptroller 
General determines to be relevant. 
(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on 
the findings and recommendations from the study re-
quired by this subsection, including recommendations 
for any changes to laws or regulations that the Comp-
troller General considers appropriate on the basis of 
the study. 
(g) STUDY ON IMPACT OF LEGISLATION ON ABILITY 
OF INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO PROTECT EX-
CLUSIVE RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES.— 
(1) STUDY
REQUIRED.—The Director, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Direc-
tor of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts, the Director of the Federal Judicial Center, 
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the heads of other relevant agencies, and interested 
parties, shall, using existing resources of the Office, 
conduct a study to examine the economic impact of 
sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act, and any amendments 
made by such sections, on the ability of individuals 
and small businesses owned by women, veterans, and 
minorities to assert, secure, and vindicate the con-
stitutionally guaranteed exclusive right to inventions 
and discoveries by such individuals and small busi-
ness. 
(2) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Direc-
tor shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the findings 
and recommendations of the Director from the study 
required under paragraph (1). 
SEC. 9. IMPROVEMENTS AND TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO 
THE LEAHY-SMITH AMERICA INVENTS ACT. 
(a) POST-GRANT
REVIEW
AMENDMENT.—Section 
325(e)(2) of title 35, United States Code is amended by 
striking ‘‘or reasonably could have raised’’. 
(b) REFORM OF PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD 
PROCEEDINGS.— 
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(1) INTER PARTES REVIEW.—Section 316(a) of 
title 35, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (13), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(14) providing that for all purposes under this 
chapter— 
‘‘(A) each claim of a patent shall be con-
strued as such claim would be in a civil action 
to invalidate a patent under section 282(b), in-
cluding construing each claim of the patent in 
accordance with the ordinary and customary 
meaning of such claim as understood by one of 
ordinary skill in the art and the prosecution his-
tory pertaining to the patent; and 
‘‘(B) if a court has previously construed the 
claim or a claim term in a civil action in which 
the patent owner was a party, the Office shall 
consider such claim construction; and 
‘‘(15) providing that a review may not be insti-
tuted unless the petitioner certifies that the petitioner 
and the real parties in interest of the petitioner— 
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‘‘(A) do not own and will not acquire a fi-
nancial instrument (including a prepaid vari-
able forward contract, equity swap, collar, or ex-
change fund) that is designed to hedge or offset 
any decrease in the market value of an equity se-
curity of the patent owner or an affiliate of the 
patent owner, during a period following the fil-
ing of the petition to be determined by the Direc-
tor; and 
‘‘(B) have not demanded payment, mone-
tary or otherwise, from the patent owner or an 
affiliate of the patent owner in exchange for a 
commitment not to file a petition under section 
311 with respect to the patent that is the subject 
of the petition, unless the petitioner or the real 
party in interest of the petitioner has been sued 
for or charged with infringement of the patent, 
during a period to be determined by the Direc-
tor.’’. 
(2) POST-GRANT
REVIEW.—Section 326(a) of 
title 35, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
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(I) within one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, an elec-
tion as described in section 102(e)(2) of 
title 35, United State Code, as added 
by paragraph (1), has been made in 
connection with the application or any 
patent issuing thereon and has effect 
with respect to each such other appli-
cation or patent with respect to which 
the disclaimer was made; 
(II) the application was pending 
before the Office on or after July 1, 
2015; and 
(III) the term of a patent issued 
on the application would be based 
upon the amendments made to sub-
section (a) of section 154 of title 35, 
United States Code, by the Uruguay 
Round Agreements Act. 
(iii) DISCLAIMERS OTHERWISE UNAF-
FECTED.—Except as provided in clause (ii), 
nothing in this subsection shall be construed 
to negate the effect of a terminal disclaimer 
limiting the enforcement of a patent issued 
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on or before the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(iv) 
TERMINAL
DISCLAIMER
DE-
FINED.—In this subparagraph, the term 
‘‘terminal disclaimer’’ has the meaning as 
such term is described in section 1.321 of 
title 37, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(E) EXCLUSIVE RULES.— 
(i) 
FIRST-INVENTOR-TO-FILE
PAT-
ENTS.—A claimed invention of a patent de-
scribed in section 3(n)(1) of the Leahy- 
Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 100 
note) and issued before, on, or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act may not be held 
invalid on any nonstatutory double-pat-
enting ground. 
(ii) 
FIRST-TO-INVENT
PATENTS.—A 
claimed invention of a patent not described 
in section 3(n)(1) of the Leahy-Smith 
America Invents Act and issued before, on, 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act 
may not be held invalid with respect to a 
claimed invention of another patent based 
on any nonstatutory double patenting 
ground if one of the claimed inventions is 
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