110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1908 
AN ACT 
To amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for patent 
reform. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Patent Reform Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Reference to title 35, United States Code. 
Sec. 3. Right of the first inventor to file. 
Sec. 4. Inventor’s oath or declaration. 
Sec. 5. Right of the inventor to obtain damages. 
Sec. 6. Post-grant procedures and other quality enhancements. 
Sec. 7. Definitions; patent trial and appeal board. 
Sec. 8. Study and report on reexamination proceedings. 
Sec. 9. Submissions by third parties and other quality enhancements. 
Sec. 10. Tax planning methods not patentable. 
Sec. 11. Venue and jurisdiction. 
Sec. 12. Additional information; inequitable conduct as defense to infringement. 
Sec. 13. Best mode requirement. 
Sec. 14. Regulatory authority. 
Sec. 15. Technical amendments. 
Sec. 16. Study of special masters in patent cases. 
Sec. 17. Study on workplace conditions. 
Sec. 18. Rule of construction. 
Sec. 19. Study on patent damages. 
Sec. 20. Severability. 
SEC. 2. REFERENCE TO TITLE 35, UNITED STATES CODE. 
Whenever in this Act a section or other provision is 
amended or repealed, that amendment or repeal shall be 
considered to be made to that section or other provision 
of title 35, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. RIGHT OF THE FIRST INVENTOR TO FILE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 100 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) The term ‘inventor’ means the individual or, if 
a joint invention, the individuals collectively who invented 
or discovered the subject matter of an invention.
‘‘(g) The terms ‘joint inventor’ and ‘coinventor’ mean 
any one of the individuals who invented or discovered the 
subject matter of a joint invention. 
‘‘(h) The ‘effective filing date of a claimed invention’ 
is— 
‘‘(1) the filing date of the patent or the applica-
tion for patent containing the claim to the invention; 
or 
‘‘(2) if the patent or application for patent is 
entitled to a right of priority of any other applica-
tion under section 119, 365(a), or 365(b) or to the 
benefit of an earlier filing date in the United States 
under section 120, 121, or 365(c), the filing date of 
the earliest such application in which the claimed in-
vention is disclosed in the manner provided by sec-
tion 112(a). 
‘‘(i) The term ‘claimed invention’ means the subject 
matter defined by a claim in a patent or an application 
for a patent.’’. 
(b) CONDITIONS FOR PATENTABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘§ 102. Conditions for patentability; novelty 
‘‘(a) NOVELTY; PRIOR ART.—A patent for a claimed 
invention may not be obtained if—
‘‘(1) the claimed invention was patented, de-
scribed in a printed publication, in public use, or on 
sale— 
‘‘(A) more than one year before the effec-
tive filing date of the claimed invention; or 
‘‘(B) one year or less before the effective 
filing date of the claimed invention, other than 
through disclosures made by the inventor or a 
joint inventor or by others who obtained the 
subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly 
from the inventor or a joint inventor; or 
‘‘(2) the claimed invention was described in a 
patent issued under section 151, or in an application 
for patent published or deemed published under sec-
tion 122(b), in which the patent or application, as 
the case may be, names another inventor and was 
effectively filed before the effective filing date of the 
claimed invention. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PRIOR
INVENTOR
DISCLOSURE
EXCEP-
TION.—Subject matter that would otherwise qualify 
as prior art based upon a disclosure under subpara-
graph (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall not be prior art 
to a claimed invention under that subparagraph if 
the subject matter had, before such disclosure, been
publicly disclosed by the inventor or a joint inventor 
or others who obtained the subject matter disclosed 
directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint in-
ventor. 
‘‘(2) DERIVATION, PRIOR
DISCLOSURE, AND 
COMMON ASSIGNMENT EXCEPTIONS.—Subject mat-
ter that would otherwise qualify as prior art only 
under subsection (a)(2) shall not be prior art to a 
claimed invention if— 
‘‘(A) the subject matter was obtained di-
rectly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint 
inventor; 
‘‘(B) the subject matter had been publicly 
disclosed by the inventor or a joint inventor or 
others who obtained the subject matter dis-
closed directly or indirectly from the inventor or 
a joint inventor before the date on which the 
application or patent referred to in subsection 
(a)(2) was effectively filed; or 
‘‘(C) the subject matter and the claimed 
invention, not later than the effective filing date 
of the claimed invention, were owned by the 
same person or subject to an obligation of as-
signment to the same person.
‘‘(3) JOINT
RESEARCH
AGREEMENT
EXCEP-
TION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject matter and a 
claimed invention shall be deemed to have been 
owned by the same person or subject to an obli-
gation of assignment to the same person in ap-
plying the provisions of paragraph (2) if— 
‘‘(i) the claimed invention was made 
by or on behalf of parties to a joint re-
search agreement that was in effect on or 
before the effective filing date of the 
claimed invention; 
‘‘(ii) the claimed invention was made 
as a result of activities undertaken within 
the scope of the joint research agreement; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the application for patent for 
the claimed invention discloses or is 
amended to disclose the names of the par-
ties to the joint research agreement. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), 
the term ‘joint research agreement’ means a 
written contract, grant, or cooperative agree-
ment entered into by two or more persons or 
entities for the performance of experimental,
developmental, or research work in the field of 
the claimed invention. 
‘‘(4) PATENTS AND PUBLISHED APPLICATIONS 
EFFECTIVELY FILED.—A patent or application for 
patent is effectively filed under subsection (a)(2) 
with respect to any subject matter described in the 
patent or application— 
‘‘(A) as of the filing date of the patent or 
the application for patent; or 
‘‘(B) if the patent or application for patent 
is entitled to claim a right of priority under sec-
tion 119, 365(a), or 365(b) or to claim the ben-
efit of an earlier filing date under section 120, 
121, or 365(c), based upon one or more prior 
filed applications for patent, as of the filing 
date of the earliest such application that de-
scribes the subject matter.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item re-
lating to section 102 in the table of sections for 
chapter 10 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘102. Conditions for patentability; novelty.’’. 
(c) CONDITIONS FOR PATENTABILITY; NON-OBVIOUS 
SUBJECT MATTER.—Section 103 is amended to read as 
follows:
‘‘§ 103. Conditions for patentability; nonobvious sub-
ject matter 
‘‘A patent for a claimed invention may not be ob-
tained though the claimed invention is not identically dis-
closed as set forth in section 102, if the differences be-
tween the claimed invention and the prior art are such 
that the claimed invention as a whole would have been ob-
vious before the effective filing date of the claimed inven-
tion to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which 
the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be 
negated by the manner in which the invention was made.’’. 
(d) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENTS FOR INVENTIONS 
MADE ABROAD.—Section 104, and the item relating to 
that section in the table of sections for chapter 10, are 
repealed. 
(e) REPEAL OF STATUTORY INVENTION REGISTRA-
TION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 157, and the item 
relating to that section in the table of sections for 
chapter 14, are repealed. 
(2) REMOVAL OF CROSS REFERENCES.—Section 
111(b)(8) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 115, 
131, 135, and 157’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 131 and 
135’’. 
(f) EARLIER FILING DATE
FOR INVENTOR
AND 
JOINT INVENTOR.—Section 120 is amended by striking
‘‘which is filed by an inventor or inventors named’’ and 
inserting ‘‘which names an inventor or joint inventor’’. 
(g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) RIGHT
OF
PRIORITY.—Section 172 is 
amended by striking ‘‘and the time specified in sec-
tion 102(d)’’. 
(2) 
LIMITATION
ON
REMEDIES.—Section 
287(c)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘the earliest effec-
tive filing date of which is prior to’’ and inserting 
‘‘which has an effective filing date before’’. 
(3) 
INTERNATIONAL
APPLICATION
DESIG-
NATING
THE
UNITED
STATES: EFFECT.—Section 
363 is amended by striking ‘‘except as otherwise 
provided in section 102(e) of this title’’. 
(4) PUBLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL APPLICA-
TION: EFFECT.—Section 374 is amended by striking 
‘‘sections 102(e) and 154(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
154(d)’’. 
(5) PATENT ISSUED ON INTERNATIONAL APPLI-
CATION: EFFECT.—The second sentence of section 
375(a) is amended by striking ‘‘Subject to section 
102(e) of this title, such’’ and inserting ‘‘Such’’. 
(6) LIMIT
ON
RIGHT
OF
PRIORITY.—Section 
119(a) is amended by striking ‘‘; but no patent shall
be granted’’ and all that follows through ‘‘one year 
prior to such filing’’. 
(7) INVENTIONS MADE WITH FEDERAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 202(c) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘publication, on sale, 
or public use,’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘obtained in the United States’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the 1-year period referred to in 
section 102(a) would end before the end of 
that 2-year period’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘the statutory’’ and 
inserting ‘‘that 1-year’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘any 
statutory bar date that may occur under this 
title due to publication, on sale, or public use’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the expiration of the 1-year pe-
riod referred to in section 102(a)’’. 
(h) REPEAL OF INTERFERING PATENT REMEDIES.— 
Section 291, and the item relating to that section in the 
table of sections for chapter 29, are repealed. 
(i) ACTION FOR CLAIM TO PATENT ON DERIVED IN-
VENTION.—Section 135 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 135. Derivation proceedings 
‘‘(a) DISPUTE OVER RIGHT TO PATENT.—
‘‘(1) 
INSTITUTION
OF
DERIVATION
PRO-
CEEDING.— 
‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR PROCEEDING.—An ap-
plicant may request initiation of a derivation 
proceeding to determine the right of the appli-
cant to a patent by filing a request that sets 
forth with particularity the basis for finding 
that another applicant derived the claimed in-
vention from the applicant requesting the pro-
ceeding and, without authorization, filed an ap-
plication claiming such invention. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR REQUEST.—Any 
request under subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) may only be made within 12 
months after the earlier of— 
‘‘(I) the date on which a patent 
is issued containing a claim that is 
the same or substantially the same as 
the claimed invention; or 
‘‘(II) the date of first publication 
of an application containing a claim 
that is the same or is substantially the 
same as the claimed invention; and 
‘‘(ii) must be made under oath, and 
must be supported by substantial evidence.
‘‘(C) DETERMINATION
OF
DIRECTOR.— 
Whenever the Director determines that patents 
or applications for patent naming different indi-
viduals as the inventor interfere with one an-
other because of a dispute over the right to pat-
ent on the basis of a request under subpara-
graph (A), the Director shall institute a deriva-
tion proceeding for the purpose of determining 
which applicant is entitled to a patent. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION BY PATENT TRIAL AND 
APPEAL BOARD.—In any proceeding under this sub-
section, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board— 
‘‘(A) shall determine the question of the 
right to patent; 
‘‘(B) in appropriate circumstances, may 
correct the naming of the inventor in any appli-
cation or patent at issue; and 
‘‘(C) shall issue a final decision on the 
right to patent. 
‘‘(3) DERIVATION
PROCEEDING.—The Patent 
Trial and Appeal Board may defer action on a re-
quest to initiate a derivation proceeding for up to 
three months after the date on which the Director 
issues a patent to the applicant that filed the earlier 
application.
‘‘(4) EFFECT OF FINAL DECISION.—The final 
decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a 
derivation proceeding, if adverse to the claim of an 
applicant, shall constitute the final refusal by the 
Patent and Trademark Office on the claims involved. 
The Director may issue a patent to an applicant who 
is determined by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board 
to have the right to a patent. The final decision of 
the Board, if adverse to a patentee, shall, if no ap-
peal or other review of the decision has been or can 
be taken or had, constitute cancellation of the claims 
involved in the patent, and notice of such cancella-
tion shall be endorsed on copies of the patent dis-
tributed after such cancellation by the Patent and 
Trademark Office. 
‘‘(b) SETTLEMENT.—Parties to a derivation pro-
ceeding may terminate the proceeding by filing a written 
statement reflecting the agreement of the parties as to the 
correct inventors of the claimed invention in dispute. Un-
less the Patent Trial and Appeal Board finds the agree-
ment to be inconsistent with the evidence of record, it shall 
take action consistent with the agreement. Any written 
settlement or understanding of the parties shall be filed 
with the Director. At the request of a party to the pro-
ceeding, the agreement or understanding shall be treated
as business confidential information, shall be kept sepa-
rate from the file of the involved patents or applications, 
and shall be made available only to Government agencies 
on written request, or to any person on a showing of good 
cause. 
‘‘(c) ARBITRATION.—Parties to a derivation pro-
ceeding, within such time as may be specified by the Di-
rector by regulation, may determine such contest or any 
aspect thereof by arbitration. Such arbitration shall be 
governed by the provisions of title 9 to the extent such 
title is not inconsistent with this section. The parties shall 
give notice of any arbitration award to the Director, and 
such award shall, as between the parties to the arbitration, 
be dispositive of the issues to which it relates. The arbitra-
tion award shall be unenforceable until such notice is 
given. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the Direc-
tor from determining patentability of the invention in-
volved in the derivation proceeding.’’. 
(j) ELIMINATION
OF
REFERENCES
TO
INTER-
FERENCES.—(1) Sections 41(a)(6), 134, 141, 145, 146, 
154, 305, and 314 are each amended by striking ‘‘Board 
of Patent Appeals and Interferences’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘Patent Trial and Appeal Board’’. 
(2) Section 141 is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘an interference’’ and inserting 
‘‘a derivation proceeding’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘interference’’ each additional 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘derivation pro-
ceeding’’. 
(3) Section 146 is amended— 
(A) in the first paragraph— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Any party’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any party’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘an interference’’ and in-
serting ‘‘a derivation proceeding’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘interference’’ each addi-
tional place it appears and inserting ‘‘derivation 
proceeding’’; and 
(B) in the second paragraph, by striking ‘‘Such 
suit’’ and inserting ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE.—A suit under 
subsection (a)’’. 
(4) The section heading for section 134 is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 134. Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’’. 
(5) The section heading for section 135 is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 135. Derivation proceedings’’. 
(6) The section heading for section 146 is amended 
to read as follows:
‘‘§ 146. Civil action in case of derivation proceeding’’. 
(7) Section 154(b)(1)(C) is amended by striking 
‘‘INTERFERENCES’’ and inserting ‘‘DERIVATION
PRO-
CEEDINGS’’. 
(8) The item relating to section 6 in the table of sec-
tions for chapter 1 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘6. Patent Trial and Appeal Board.’’. 
(9) The items relating to sections 134 and 135 in 
the table of sections for chapter 12 are amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘134. Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. 
‘‘135. Derivation proceedings.’’. 
(10) The item relating to section 146 in the table of 
sections for chapter 13 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘146. Civil action in case of derivation proceeding.’’. 
(11) CERTAIN APPEALS.—Subsection 1295(a)(4)(A) 
of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
with respect to patent applications, derivation 
proceedings, and post-grant review proceedings, 
at the instance of an applicant for a patent or 
any party to a patent interference (commenced 
with respect to an application for patent filed 
before the effective date provided in section 
3(k) of the Patent Reform Act of 2007), deriva-
tion proceeding, or post-grant review pro-
ceeding, and any such appeal shall waive any 
right of such applicant or party to proceed 
under section 145 or 146 of title 35;’’. 
(k) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section— 
(A) shall take effect 90 days after the date 
on which the President issues an Executive 
order containing the President’s finding that 
major patenting authorities have adopted a 
grace period having substantially the same ef-
fect as that contained under the amendments 
made by this section; and 
(B) shall apply to all applications for pat-
ent that are filed on or after the effective date 
under subparagraph (A). 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) MAJOR
PATENTING
AUTHORITIES.— 
The term ‘‘major patenting authorities’’ means 
at least the patenting authorities in Europe and 
Japan. 
(B) GRACE PERIOD.—The term ‘‘grace pe-
riod’’ means the 1-year period ending on the ef-
fective filing date of a claimed invention, during