H.R. 6264: Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2018

115th Congress · introduced 2018-06-28 · Commerce · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2018-06-28 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2018

Plain summary

Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2018 This bill revises several parts of the patent law. The bill changes the U.S. patent system back to a first-to-invent system, where the first inventor to conceive of an invention is entitled to a patent. Currently, the first person to file an application that meets all the requirements is entitled to the patent, as a result of the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Several types of administrative patent challenge proceedings are abolished, as well as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office body that decides those proceedings. This bill relaxes the standard of what constitutes patent-eligible subject matter. The only ineligible inventions shall be those that exist in nature independent or prior to human activity, or exist solely in the human mind. This bill limits what types of publications shall be treated as prior art that could be used to make an invention anticipated or obvious. This bill authorizes the USPTO to keep and spend all the fees that it collects.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2018

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] reported raising $8.9 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr6264.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr6264 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115