Innovation Alliance Statement on Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Patent Eligibility Restoration Act
For Immediate Release
July 14, 2026
Innovation Alliance Statement on Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Patent Eligibility Restoration Act
PERA is Needed to Fix Broken Patent Eligibility Laws
Bipartisan Bill Would Restore Certainty and Predictability and Ensure U.S. Can Compete With China
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Innovation Alliance Executive Director Brian Pomper issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the bipartisan, bicameral Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) (S.1546/H.R.3152):
“The Innovation Alliance applauds the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding a hearing on the bipartisan, bicameral Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA). This legislation is needed to fix our nation’s broken patent eligibility laws. It makes critical reforms that will help restore certainty and predictability to the U.S. patent system and ensure we can compete with China.
“Historically, inventions in the United States were patented across broad categories of discovery. Starting in 2010, however, the Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that have upended longstanding settled law and narrowed the scope of patent-eligible subject matter. These decisions have created chaos in the patent world. Federal circuit judges and USPTO Directors have repeatedly noted that current interpretations of the law make it nearly ‘impossible’ to know whether certain inventions should be patent eligible and have urged Congress to pass legislation to provide clarity.
“Meanwhile, our foreign competitors, including China, are granting patents on many inventions that are now unpatentable here. This not only undermines U.S. competitiveness and the ability of our nation to remain the global leader in innovation, but it creates a national security risk as other countries challenge U.S. leadership in developing key technologies.
“PERA would solve this problem by clarifying categories of inventions that are eligible to receive patents, restoring needed certainty and predictability for American innovators and investors, and ensuring the United States avoids ceding leadership in key technologies to our foreign adversaries and competitors. We urge Congress to take up and pass this important legislation as soon as possible.”
PERA was reintroduced last year in the Senate by IP Subcommittee Chair Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), and in the House by Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA). The legislation was drafted following years of study and deliberation with key stakeholders. For more information on PERA, click here.