Innovation Act
House-passed bill to reduce patent lawsuits, stalled in Senate.
The Innovation Act of the 113th Congress (H.R. 3309) was a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 23, 2013, by Rep. Bob Goodlatte. It aimed to reduce patent lawsuits by changing the rules and regulations surrounding patent infringement lawsuits, including requiring plaintiffs to be more specific about alleged violations and requiring losing plaintiffs to pay the costs of the winning defendant. The bill was passed by the House on December 5, 2013, but was never passed by the Senate.
- Introduced
- October 23, 2013
- House Vote
- December 5, 2013 (passed)
- Senate Action
- Never passed; Senate Judiciary Committee held hearing December 2013
- Sponsor
- Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R, VA-6)
- Congress
- 113th United States Congress
- Reintroduced
- February 2015 as H.R. 9 (114th Congress)
Lore & Background
The Innovation Act was introduced in response to a significant increase in patent litigation since 2011, when the Leahy–Smith America Invents Act was passed. Lawsuits had expanded from targeting tech companies to restaurants, grocery stores, and other non-tech businesses. The bill sought to address practices such as patent owners filing vague complaints and delaying specific details until the expensive discovery phase, as well as suing end-users of products rather than manufacturers.
Reader's Guide
The Innovation Act represented a major legislative effort to curb patent litigation abuse, particularly from so-called 'patent trolls.' Its provisions would have required plaintiffs to provide detailed information about alleged infringement early in a lawsuit and made it easier for defendants to recover legal fees. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support but failed in the Senate, where Chairman Patrick Leahy removed it from the agenda in May 2014 due to disagreements over balancing patent enforcement with protecting innovators. The Supreme Court's decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. in April 2014 addressed similar issues by shifting fees for frivolous suits to plaintiffs. The bill's reintroduction in 2015 also did not advance, leaving the problem of patent litigation largely to judicial and administrative action.
Did You Know?
- The bill would have required plaintiffs to specify each patent claim allegedly infringed and the principal business of the party alleging infringement.
- The Congressional Budget Office estimated implementing the bill would cost $3 million over 2014–2018, plus $30 million per year for the Patent and Trademark Office, offset by fees.
- Examples cited in the article include Lodsys targeting app developers, MPHJ Technology demanding fees for scanning documents, and Innovatio targeting coffee shops for Wi-Fi patents.
- The bill was reintroduced in February 2015 as H.R. 9 but was not voted on by the House or Senate.
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