H.R. 5874: Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-11-04 · 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 2021-11-04 · 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 2021

Plain summary

Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2021 This bill revises several aspects of patent law. The bill changes the U.S. patent system back to a first-to-invent system, in which 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 necessary requirements is entitled to the patent. Several types of administrative patent challenge proceedings are abolished, as well as the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) body that decides those proceedings. The bill relaxes the standard for what constitutes patent-eligible subject matter. The only ineligible inventions shall be those that exist in nature independent or prior to human activity or that exist solely in the human mind. The bill also makes it easier for a patent owner that has won an infringement case in court to secure a permanent injunction against the infringing defendant. Specifically, there shall be a presumption that further infringement would cause irreparable harm to the prevailing patent owner, and the burden shall be on the infringer to prove otherwise. (Currently, a prevailing patent owner seeking a permanent injunction must prove, among other things, that further infringement would cause irreparable harm.) The bill limits what types of publications shall be treated as prior art that could be used to make an invention be considered to be anticipated or obvious (and therefore not patentable). The bill authorizes the PTO 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 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] · 26 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Chip Roy (R-TX), Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA)

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-117hr5874.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/hr>

Record fed-us-cong117-hr5874 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117