district court may transfer that action to any other district 
or division where— 
‘‘(1) the defendant has substantial evidence or 
witnesses; and 
‘‘(2) venue would be appropriate under section 
1391 of this title, if such transfer would be appro-
priate under section 1404 of this title.’’. 
(b) INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS.—Subsection (c) of sec-
tion 1292 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(1); 
(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.’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply to any action commenced on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION; INEQUITABLE CON-
DUCT AS DEFENSE TO INFRINGEMENT. 
(a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 123. Additional information 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, by regulation, 
require that applicants submit a search report and other 
information and analysis relevant to patentability. An ap-
plication shall be regarded as abandoned if the applicant 
fails to submit the required search report, information, and 
analysis in the manner and within the time period pre-
scribed by the Director. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR MICRO ENTITIES.—Applications 
from micro-entities shall not be subject to the requirements 
of regulations issued under subsection (a). 
‘‘§ 124. Micro entities 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this title, the term 
‘micro entity’ means an applicant for patent who makes 
a certification under either subsection (b) or (c). 
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‘‘(b) 
UNASSIGNED
APPLICATION.—A 
certification 
under this subsection is a certification by each inventor 
named in the application that the inventor— 
‘‘(1) qualifies as a small entity as defined in reg-
ulations issued by the Director; 
‘‘(2) has not been named on five or more pre-
viously filed patent applications; 
‘‘(3) has not assigned, granted, or conveyed, and 
is not under an obligation by contract or law to as-
sign, grant, or convey, a license or any other owner-
ship interest in the application; and 
‘‘(4) does not have a gross income, as defined in 
section 61(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
exceeding 2.5 times the median household income, as 
reported by the Bureau of the Census, for the most re-
cent calendar year preceding the calendar year in 
which the examination fee is being paid. 
‘‘(c) ASSIGNED APPLICATION.—A certification under 
this subsection is a certification by each inventor named 
in the application that the inventor— 
‘‘(1) qualifies as a small entity as defined in reg-
ulations issued by the Director and meets the require-
ments of subsection (b)(4); 
‘‘(2) has not been named on five or more pre-
viously filed patent applications; and 
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‘‘(3) has assigned, granted, conveyed, or is under 
an obligation by contract or law to assign, grant, or 
convey, a license or other ownership interest in the 
application to an entity that has five or fewer em-
ployees and has a gross taxable income, as defined in 
section 61(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
that does not exceed 2.5 times the median household 
income, as reported by the Bureau of the Census, for 
the most recent calendar year preceding the calendar 
year in which the examination fee is being paid.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 11 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new items: 
‘‘123. Additional information. 
‘‘124. Micro entities.’’. 
(b) INEQUITABLE CONDUCT
AS DEFENSE
TO IN-
FRINGEMENT.—Section 282 is amended— 
(1) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 
striking ‘‘A patent’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GEN-
ERAL.—A patent’’; 
(2) in the second undesignated paragraph— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The following’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(b) DEFENSES.—The following’’; and 
(B) by striking the comma at the end of 
each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and insert-
ing a period; 
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