Tag Archives: legislation

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) of 2024: From Oz to Earth

September 8, 2024Patentlegislation, paid, patent eligibility, Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, Section 101, Subject Matter EligibilityDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

As its name suggests, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) is designed to substantially overturn the Supreme Court’s decisions in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014). Together those cases created a firestorm of invalid patents and challenges for the patent office and patent holders alike. The bipartisan proposal was introduced in the Senate (Coons/Tillis) earlier this term and most recently introduced to the US House of Representatives (Kiley/Peters). Although Alice and Mayo doctrine created substantial confusion, much of that confusion has now died down in the past decade.* The bigger issue is that it is substantially harder to obtain patents and easier to invalidate issued patents — particularly in cases where the invention lies in software or diagnostic methods. This post examines the proposed PERA and its potential impact — along with providing a bit of data.

* Although the extreme confusion is gone, there is still plenty to go around. A case in point is the Federal Circuit’s September 3, 2024 decision in BBiTV v. Amazon. In that case, the court showed its linguistic flexibility in distinguishing the claimed user interface (deemed ineligible) from those in Core Wireless and Data Engine (deemed eligible).

(more…)

NO FAKES Act: Unpacking the New Bipartisan Bill on Digital Replicas

July 31, 2024PatentAI Ethics, AI Regulation, Celebrity Rights, Copyright, Deepfakes, Digital Replicas, DMCA, Entertainment Law, Federal Preemption, Film Industry, first amendment, intellectual property, legislation, Music Industry, paid, privacy, Right of Publicity, safe harborDennis Crouch

Senators aim to rein in digital replicas with the “NO FAKES” Act which proposes a limited federal right to control one’s likeness using some DMCA-like notice-and-takedown elements.

Guest post by Professor Justin Hughes

This week, Senators Blackburn, Coons, Klobuchar, and Tillis introduced the bipartisan “NO FAKES” Act in Congress, a bill that has been under discussion for months and is intended to provide centerpiece legislation addressing the problem of digital replicas. The recording industry (RIAA) and the actors’ union (SAGAFTRA) have been the leading proponents of such a law. Senate Judiciary staff led a process with those groups–and with the Motion Picture Association (MPA)–that went through a long series of drafts. AI companies were also part of the drafting process.

Read the Bill: No FAKES Act text

The bill is substantively complex and structurally complicated, partly the result of so many cooks in the kitchen. What follows here are only the bill’s basics – as well as some concerns. (more…)

Presumption of Injunction: How the RESTORE Act Aims to Re-Empower Patent Holders

July 31, 2024PatentConstitutional Law, eBay v. MercExchange, Equity, Federal Circuit, Injunctive Relief, innovation policy, intellectual property, legislation, NPEs, obviousness, paid, patent infringement, patent law, patent litigation, Patent Remedies, patent rights, RESTORE Act, Supreme CourtDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

For the vast majority of American history, a judgment of patent infringement (by a court sitting in equity) led almost directly to injunctive relief barring ongoing infringement. This construct was flipped by the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388 (2006), a case which served as the first major step of weakening patentee rights over the past two decades. Now, a new bipartisan bill aims to restore the pre-eBay status quo. The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act of 2024, introduced by Senators Coons (D-Del.) and Cotton (R-Ark.), with a House companion bill from Representatives Moran (R-Texas) and Dean (D-Pa.), seeks to reshape and repair the availability of injunctive relief for patent holders. As you’ll see, one nice element of the Bill is that it simply adds 1 sentence – creating a rebuttable presumption (more…)