Innovation Alliance Statement on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Innovation Alliance Executive Director Brian Pomper today issued the following statement on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 introduced by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE):
“The Innovation Alliance thanks Senators Tillis and Coons for introducing the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 to help restore certainty and predictability to the U.S. patent system.
“For nearly 150 years, Section 101 of the Patent Act was interpreted to allow inventions to be patented across broad categories of discovery. This approach supercharged American innovation and led to countless technological and medical breakthroughs in areas that could not have been imagined when Section 101 was first enacted.
“Starting in 2010, however, the Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that have upended longstanding settled law, narrowed the scope of patent-eligible subject matter, and created unworkable and unpredictable exceptions to an otherwise clear statute. These decisions have created chaos in the patent world and left inventors and lower court judges uncertain about what is patentable. Meanwhile, our foreign competitors, including China, are granting patents on many inventions that are now unpatentable here. As a result, innovation and venture capital are being driven overseas.
“The disparity in patent eligibility between the United States and our foreign competitors is particularly problematic in the critical areas of emerging technologies and biotech innovations, including 5G, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and medical diagnostics. This not only undermines U.S. competitiveness and the ability of the United States to remain the global leader in innovation, but it harms U.S. national security as other countries challenge U.S. leadership in developing these key technologies.
“We deeply appreciate the leadership of Senators Tillis and Coons and their continued commitment to addressing this critical problem. This bill is a significant positive step forward in providing more certainty and predictability to Section 101.
“The Innovation Alliance looks forward to continuing to work with Senators Tillis and Coons to finalize this legislation and get it passed into law.”