Senator Coons, colleagues introduce bipartisan, bicameral bill to restore injunctive relief for patent infringement

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced the Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act of 2024, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would restore the presumption that courts will issue an injunction to stop patent infringers, strengthening protections for U.S. inventors, entrepreneurs, universities, and startups. The House companion bill was introduced by Representatives Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.).

"As our Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution, the right to exclude others from making and using a patented invention is the basic foundation of our patent system," said Senator Coons. "However, having a right to exclude is meaningless when courts do not enforce that right. Under our current system, it is cheaper for large companies to steal patented technologies from our inventors and entrepreneurs than to license those technologies lawfully. The RESTORE Patent Rights Act will give the long-established exclusivity right teeth again to protect innovation and ensure our continued leadership and competitiveness on the global stage."

"American ingenuity should be rewarded and protected," said Senator Cotton. "Current patent law fails to protect inventors and leaves them vulnerable to intellectual property theft from adversaries like China. This bipartisan legislation will help solidify America's edge in technological innovation."

"Enforceable patents are vital to our ability to invent, improve and advance - yet today, it is increasingly difficult for patent holders to enforce their rights through permanent injunctions, even after proving infringement in court," said Congresswoman Dean. "The bipartisan, bicameral RESTORE Act addresses this issue and safeguards American innovation. I'm grateful to be joined by Congressman Moran, Senator Coons, and Senator Cotton in our push to protect patentholders, including universities, research laboratories, and startups."

"American innovation is only as strong as the confidence in knowing ideas cannot be stolen by competitors," said Congressman Moran. "In the last two decades, innovators have found it harder to obtain a permanent injunction from U.S. courts, which stops bad actors from stealing their intellectual property (IP). Our legislation will restore the rights of American innovators by ensuring permanent injunctions are accessible from U.S. courts. This bill will provide greater certainty in the protection of IP and prevent cases from being taken overseas to countries like China. When U.S. courts enforce the exclusivity of patent rights, America becomes a world leader in innovation."

For more than two centuries, courts granted injunctive relief in the majority of patent cases upon a finding of infringement, preventing patent infringers from continuing to produce goods that ran afoul of patent laws. However, this practice was upended in 2006, when the Supreme Court's decision in eBay v. MercExchangecreated a four-factor test to determine whether a permanent injunction is warranted in infringement cases, altering the longstanding remedy for patent infringement.

Since that decision, obtaining injunctive relief in patent cases has become significantly more difficult and significantly more rare. A recent study found that requests for permanent injunctions in patent cases fell by 65% for companies that use their patented technology to manufacture a product; grants of permanent injunctions to those companies fell by an even greater amount. Requests and grants for licensing patent owners like universities and research clinics dropped even further: Requests fell by 85% and grants fell by 90%.

The RESTORE Patent Rights Act would undo the damage of the eBay decision by returning to patent owners a rebuttable presumption that an injunction is warranted after a court makes a final ruling that their rights are being infringed. This would deter predatory infringers and restore meaning to the right to exclude.

In addition to Senators Coons and Cotton and Representatives Moran and Dean, this legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Chip Roy (R-Texas), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), and Deborah Ross (D-N.C.).

The RESTORE Patent Rights Act is endorsed by the Innovation Alliance, Alliance of U.S. Startups & Inventors for Jobs, Association of University Technology Managers, Council for Innovation Promotion, Americans for Limited Government, Eagle Forum, Market Institute, and Conservatives for Property Rights.

"The inability of inventors to get injunctive relief when their patents are infringed is one of the biggest problems plaguing America's innovation ecosystem," said Brian Pomper, Executive Director, Innovation Alliance. "It has allowed Big Tech and other large companies to practice predatory infringement, where they shamelessly steal patented inventions simply because it is cheaper than paying reasonable licensing fees for the technology. Senators Coons and Cotton and Representatives Moran, Dean, Roy, Johnson, and Ross should be applauded for introducing the RESTORE Patent Rights Act, which will stop this patent theft by restoring the right to injunctions in cases of proven patent infringement. This legislation is critical to encouraging private-sector investments in American innovation that support U.S. technological leadership."

"The Association of University Technology Managers applauds the introduction of the RESTORE Act," said Stephen J. Susalka, CEO, Association of University Technology Managers. "This legislation will truly give patent holders their full rights to protect their inventions once they have been proven to be valid. For too long, rightful patent holders have not had the chance to protect their inventions adequately, leading to all sorts of economic harm. This legislation returns the law to its correct interpretation in the wake of the ill-conceived eBay v. MercExchange case in 2006."

"Right now, IP thieves can get away with a slap on the wrist, knowing they'll likely face only a one-time fee, even if found liable," said David Kappos, Co-Chair, Council for Innovation Promotion, and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director. "The RESTORE Act changes that. The legislation protects inventors' fundamental right to turn their own groundbreaking ideas into real-world products. We appreciate the introduction of this important legislation by Senators Coons and Cotton, and Representatives Moran, Dean, Roy, and Ross, and look forward to continuing to work with them on this important issue."

"To lead the world in the technologies of the future, America must first protect its inventions at home," said Andrei Iancu, Co-Chair, Council for Innovation Promotion, and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director. "Inventors cannot effectively protect their inventions without the ability to exclude. The RESTORE Act defends American innovation from unlawful infringement, safeguarding our economy and national security."

"Restoring the presumption of injunctive relief in cases where a court has ruled that a patent has been infringed is, perhaps, the most impactful thing that can be done to empower American inventors, entrepreneurs and startups," said Chris Israel, Executive Director, Alliance of U.S. Startups & Inventors for Jobs. "Patent law and legislation is often complicated. The RESTORE Act is not. It is a clear and unambiguous bill that simply restores balance between large corporations that ingest others' IP and the startups and entrepreneurs that invent it."

"Conservatives for Property Rights strongly supports the RESTORE Patent Rights Act because it returns meaning to the promise of exclusive rights to one's invention," James Edwards, Executive Director, Conservatives for Property Rights. "At present, due to misapplication of the 2006 eBay v. MercExchange ruling, permanent injunctions have become extremely difficult to obtain in patent infringement cases. We applaud and thank Senators Chris Coons and Tom Cotton and Representatives Nathaniel Moran and Madeleine Dean for their leadership to right this wrong and to restore the reasonable, commonsense remedy every property owner is due when his or her private property is taken without permission."

The text of the bill is availablehere.

A one-pager is available here.

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