IP Watchdog: eBay, Its Effects, and the RESTORE Patent Rights Act by James Edwards
“Pre-eBay intellectual property rights in inventions have been turned upside down. Thus, the RESTORE Patent Rights Act is warranted.”
If the essence of patent rights—the right to exclude—is ever to be restored post-eBay, a new legislative vehicle for doing so has arrived in Congress. The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act is bipartisan and bicameral, as well as short and sweet—less than four pages.
This legislation would return the status quo ante eBay v. MercExchange, empowering the promise of patent exclusivity. Proven patent infringers would no longer be able to continue infringing after judgment against them, whether by making, using or selling a patented invention without permission.
Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) recently introduced the RESTORE Patent Rights Act (S. 4840) in the U.S. Senate. Representatives Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA.), joined by cosponsors, Representatives Hank Johnson (D-GA), Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Chip Roy (R-TX), sponsored the House companion bill (H.R. 9221).