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(B) filed before that date if a patent or re-
issue patent has not been issued pursuant to 
the application as of that date; and 
(3) shall not be construed as validating any pat-
ent issued before the date of the enactment of this 
Act for an invention described in section 101(b) of 
title 35, United States Code, as amended by this 
section. 
SEC. 11. VENUE AND JURISDICTION. 
(a) VENUE FOR PATENT CASES.—Section 1400 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking sub-
section (b) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) In any civil action arising under any Act of Con-
gress relating to patents, a party shall not manufacture 
venue by assignment, incorporation, joinder, or otherwise 
primarily to invoke the venue of a specific district court. 
‘‘(c) Notwithstanding section 1391 of this title, ex-
cept as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, any 
civil action for patent infringement or any action for de-
claratory judgment relating to a patent may be brought 
only in a judicial district— 
‘‘(1) where the defendant has its principal place 
of business or is incorporated, or, for foreign cor-
porations with a United States subsidiary, where the 
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defendant’s primary United States subsidiary has its 
principal place of business or is incorporated; 
‘‘(2) where the defendant has committed a sub-
stantial portion of the acts of infringement and has 
a regular and established physical facility that the 
defendant controls and that constitutes a substantial 
portion of the defendant’s operations; 
‘‘(3) for cases involving only foreign defendants 
with no United States subsidiary, according to sec-
tion 1391(d) of this title; 
‘‘(4) where the plaintiff resides, if the plaintiff 
is— 
‘‘(A) an institution of higher education as 
defined under section 101(a) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. section 
1001(a)); or 
‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization that— 
‘‘(i) is described in section 501(c)(3) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
‘‘(ii) is exempt from taxation under 
section 501(a) of such Code; and 
‘‘(iii) serves primarily as the patent 
and licensing organization for an institu-
tion of higher education as defined under 
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section 101(a) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); 
‘‘(5) where the plaintiff or a subsidiary has a 
place of business that is engaged in substantial— 
‘‘(A) research and development, 
‘‘(B) manufacturing activities, or 
‘‘(C) management of research and develop-
ment or manufacturing activities, 
related to the patent or patents in dispute; 
‘‘(6) where the plaintiff resides if the plaintiff 
is named as inventor or co-inventor on the patent 
and has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, 
and is under no obligation to assign, grant, convey, 
or license, any rights in the patent or in enforcement 
of the patent, including the results of any such en-
forcement; or 
‘‘(7) where any of the defendants has substan-
tial evidence and witnesses if there is no other dis-
trict in which the action may be brought under this 
section.’’. 
(b) INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS.—Subsection (c) of 
section 1292 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(1); 
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(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) of an appeal from an interlocutory order 
or decree determining construction of claims in a 
civil action for patent infringement under section 
271 of title 35. 
Application for an appeal under paragraph (3) shall be 
made to the court within 10 days after entry of the order 
or decree. The district court shall have discretion whether 
to approve the application and, if so, whether to stay pro-
ceedings in the district court during pendency of the ap-
peal.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section— 
(A) shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this Act; and 
(B) shall apply to any civil action com-
menced on or after such date of enactment. 
(2) PENDING CASES.—Any case commenced in 
a United States district court on or after September 
7, 2007, in which venue is improper under section 
1400 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by 
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this section, shall be transferred pursuant to section 
1404 of such title, unless— 
(A) one or more substantive rulings on the 
merits, or other substantial litigation, has oc-
curred; and 
(B) the court finds that transfer would not 
serve the interests of justice. 
SEC. 12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION; INEQUITABLE CON-
DUCT AS DEFENSE TO INFRINGEMENT. 
(a) 
DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
APPLI-
CANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 123. Additional information 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, by regulation, 
require that applicants submit a search report and other 
information and analysis relevant to patentability. If the 
Director requires a search report to be submitted by appli-
cants, and an applicant does not itself perform the search, 
the search must be performed by one or more individuals 
who are United States citizens or by a commercial entity 
that is organized under the laws of the United States or 
any State and employs United States citizens to perform 
such searches. An application shall be regarded as aban-
doned if the applicant fails to submit a search report, in-
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