I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2584 
To amend title 35, United States Code, to limit the patentability of tax 
planning methods. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2009 
Mr. BOUCHER (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. JONES, Mr. SPRATT, and 
Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 35, United States Code, to limit the 
patentability of tax planning methods. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. TAX PLANNING METHODS NOT PATENTABLE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of title 35 (35 U.S.C. 
101) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 
PATENTABLE INVENTIONS.—Whoever’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) TAX PLANNING METHODS.— 
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‘‘(1) UNPATENTABLE
SUBJECT
MATTER.—A 
patent may not be obtained for a tax planning meth-
od. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1)— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘tax planning method’ 
means a plan, strategy, technique, or scheme 
that is designed to reduce, minimize, or defer, 
or has, when implemented, the effect of reduc-
ing, minimizing, or deferring, a taxpayer’s tax 
liability, but does not include the use of tax 
preparation software or other tools used solely 
to perform or model mathematical calculations 
or prepare tax or information returns; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘taxpayer’ means an indi-
vidual, entity, or other person (as defined in 
section 7701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986) that is subject to taxation directly, is re-
quired to prepare a tax return or information 
statement to enable one or more other persons 
to determine their tax liability, or is otherwise 
subject to a tax law; 
‘‘(C) the terms ‘tax’, ‘tax laws’, ‘tax liabil-
ity’, and ‘taxation’ refer to any Federal, State, 
county, city, municipality, or other govern-
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mental levy, assessment, or imposition, whether 
measured by income, value, or otherwise; and 
‘‘(D) the term ‘State’ means each of the 
several States, the District of Columbia, and 
any commonwealth, territory, or possession of 
the United States.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 
section— 
(1) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; 
(2) shall apply to any application for patent or 
application for a reissue patent that is— 
(A) filed on or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; or 
(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. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act and shall apply to any action for patent 
infringement that is filed on or after that date. 
Æ 
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