WASHINGTON (May 1, 2025) — Today, the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) applauded Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) as well as Representatives Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) for reintroducing the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act.
“This bill will strengthen the U.S. patent system by eliminating duplicative patent challenges weaponized against smaller inventors,” said David Kappos, board co-chair of C4IP and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director from 2009 to 2013. “It also increases fairness and predictability by aligning standards between district courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), the quasi-judicial patent review board housed under the USPTO.”
The Act would:
- Provide patent challengers a choice of a single forum — after the PTAB agrees to proceed with a challenge, that patent challenger would have to choose to continue with its invalidity case at either the PTAB or the court, but not both — to eliminate duplicative and costly proceedings in multiple venues.
- Require “clear and convincing evidence” to invalidate a patent at PTAB, thereby aligning it with district court standards.
- Implement safeguards to ensure fairness for both patent holders and challengers in PTAB proceedings.
“America’s economic growth depends on inventors being able to protect and defend their patents in practice, not just in theory,” said Andrei Iancu, board co-chair of C4IP and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director from 2018 to 2021. “The PREVAIL Act will boost our economy by ensuring that patent rights are meaningfully enforceable and not subject to repetitive attacks, and will reduce government waste by eliminating duplicative proceedings in various tribunals.”
“When inventors can’t rely on patent protections, they hesitate to invest in and create the next great breakthrough,” said Frank Cullen, executive director of C4IP. “We commend Senators Coons, Tillis, Durbin, and Hirono as well as Representatives Ross and Moran for their commitment to upholding a world-class patent system that drives progress.”
Last Congress, this bill advanced favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. With this record of strong bipartisan support, C4IP urges this new Congress to prioritize advancing and passing this bill into law promptly in support of America’s innovation ecosystem.
C4IP’s full analysis of the bill is available here.
About the Council for Innovation Promotion: The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.