PREVAIL Act

This bill aims to make the patent system more reliable and easier to navigate. It raises the bar to cancel an issued patent in Patent Office trials: challengers must prove their case with clear and convincing evidence, and the Office must read patent claims the same way courts do . It also cuts down on repeat or copy‑cat challenges and generally keeps most validity fights in one place instead of both the Patent Office and the courts . To speed things up, the bill sets deadlines for rehearings and for decisions after a case is sent back on appeal .

It adds guardrails on who can file challenges: people who secretly fund a case are treated as real parties, and most filers must have a real stake (for example, they’ve been sued, are at risk of being sued, or are certain nonprofits with no ties to an accused infringer) . It limits late or duplicate Patent Office reviews after a lawsuit starts . Panels must have three judges, the person who allows a case to start cannot later decide it, and an ethics code is required. The bill also sets up a dedicated fund so Patent Office fees stay with the Office to support patent and trademark work, moves old balances into that fund, and closes the old reserve fund . The Office must also offer, where feasible, the same search tools, materials, and classes it has in its public search room online for free. Schools and small businesses get help too: more university‑related inventors qualify for “micro‑entity” fee discounts, and the Small Business Administration must study how patent ownership and infringement suits affect small firms.

• Who is affected: inventors and patent owners; people or companies that challenge patents; small businesses; universities; the Patent Office and courts.
• What changes: higher proof needed to cancel issued patents, and claims read like courts do ; one‑forum approach for most validity fights ; fewer repeat petitions and copy‑cat filings ; clearer rules on who can file, including treating hidden funders as parties ; firm deadlines for rehearings and remands ; three‑judge panels and an ethics code for decision‑makers ; a new revolving fund so fees stay with the Office, plus free online access to public search tools and materials .
• When: the funding changes start on the first day of the next fiscal year after the bill becomes law.