PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6782-6783)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 29, 2021
Restoring the America Invents Act
This bill modifies various provisions related to administrative patent validity review proceedings conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), a body within the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
For example, the bill
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expands the scope of inter partes reviews (IPRs), one type of such review proceedings, by allowing challenges to a patent's validity based on statutory or obviousness-type double patenting grounds;
authorizes the PTO director to review, modify, or set aside final PTAB decisions;
authorizes governmental entities to file IPRs and post-grant reviews (PGRs), a related type of patent review proceeding;
requires the PTO to institute an IPR (i.e., a decision to proceed with the full IPR proceeding) if there's a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner will prevail, subject to limited exceptions;
establishes in statute factors for a court to consider when deciding a request to stay a patent infringement lawsuit involving a patent subject to a pending IPR or PGR;
modifies provisions related to the joinder of parties and handling of multiple proceedings involving the same patent before the PTO; and
modifies provisions relating to the time limitation for filing an IPR, including by establishing that a lawsuit dismissed without prejudice does not trigger the time limitation (generally, a petitioner wishing to file an IPR must do so within one year of being served a lawsuit alleging infringement of the patent).
People & committees
Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] · D–VT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6782-6783)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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