PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 129.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Jun 28, 2019
Preserving Access to Cost Effective Drugs Act or the PACED Act
This bill prohibits patent owners from asserting tribal sovereign immunity as a defense in certain proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including patent validity challenge proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The prohibition also applies to court actions and proceedings before the International Trade Commission.
Sovereign immunity for foreign states shall apply in the PTAB as it applies in federal court. The abrogation of sovereign immunity shall not apply to states or institutions of higher education (i.e., public state universities and institutions).
People & committees
Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] · R–AR
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 129.
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Graham with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Graham with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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