“A bill to address patent thickets.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends the safe harbor provision of the Patent Act (35 U.S.C. 271(e)) to prohibit assertion of more than one patent per Patent Group in infringement actions against abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) or biosimilar applicants (or holders) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(b)(2) or (j)) or Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(k)), or parties making, using, selling, offering to sell, importing, or introducing such products into interstate commerce. A Patent Group consists of two or more commonly owned patents or applications identified on (or subject to) disclaimers under 35 U.S.C. 253 to obviate obviousness-type double patenting, with all patents disclaiming the same base patent (or vice versa) grouped together. (Thus, a patent holder asserting one patent from a group against a party may not assert additional patents from that group or bring further such actions.) The amendment applies to applications submitted on or after enactment.