SAMS Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 4370

119th Congress

SAMS Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 14, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Gary J. Palmer

Representative

Republican

AL-6

Cosponsors

3

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Commerce

Summary

This bill aims to modify the rules around how patents are challenged and reviewed in the United States. It would place new restrictions on who can petition to challenge a patent and how those challenges are handled, making it harder to invalidate existing patents. The bill would also make it easier for universities and nonprofits to get reduced fees when filing for patents.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

SponsorGary J. Palmer (R-AL)

Introduced7/14/2025

StatusReferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space,

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

See this page through your district lens

Enter ZIP to personalize representatives and vote context.

Stay on top of this issue

Subscribe for weekly bill and representative updates.

Vote Prediction

SAMS Act of 2025

This bill aims to modify the rules around how patents are challenged and reviewed in the United States. It would place new restrictions on who can petition to challenge a patent and how those challenges are handled, making it harder to invalidate existing pate

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill aims to modify the rules around how patents are challenged and reviewed in the United States. It would place new restrictions on who can petition to challenge a patent and how those challenges are handled, making it harder to invalidate existing patents. The bill would also make it easier for universities and nonprofits to get reduced fees when filing for patents.

Bill Number: 4370
Sponsor: Gary J. Palmer (R-AL)
Introduced: 7/14/2025
Status: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space,
Policy Area: Commerce

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: SAMS Act of 2025
Bill Number: 4370
Sponsor: Gary J. Palmer (R-AL)
Status: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space,
Introduced: 7/14/2025
Summary: This bill aims to modify the rules around how patents are challenged and reviewed in the United States. It would place new restrictions on who can petition to challenge a patent and how those challenges are handled, making it harder to invalidate existing patents. The bill would also make it easier

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to modify the rules around how patents are challenged and reviewed in the United States. It would place new restrictions on who can petition to challenge a patent and how those challenges are handled, making it harder to invalidate existing patents. The bill would also make it easier for universities and nonprofits to get reduced fees when filing for patents.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act or the PREVAIL ActThis bill addresses various issues relating to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), including by imposing additional requirements on administrative patent validity challenges (proceedings to review and potentially cancel issued patents) at the PTO.The bill modifies provisions relating to inter partes reviews (IPRs) and other administrative patent validity proceedings, including by<ul><li>prohibiting an administrative patent judge who participated in deciding whether to institute an IPR (i.e., whether to allow the IPR to proceed based on the initial petition) from also participating in deciding the final outcome of the same IPR;</li><li>prohibiting a person (individual or entity) from petitioning for an IPR against a patent unless the person has been sued for or charged with infringing that patent, whereas currently any person may petition for an IPR;</li><li>prohibiting a person who has challenged a patent's validity in an IPR from raising the same challenges against the patent in other proceedings (e.g., district court) if the IPR has been instituted; and</li><li>raising the burden that the petitioner in an IPR must meet to invalidate a previously-issued patent claim.</li></ul>This bill also makes institutions of higher education (IHEs) and nonprofit entities that hold patents on behalf of IHEs eligible for reduced patent-related fees, including filing fees. (Currently, employees of IHEs are eligible for reduced fees but not the IHEs themselves.)The bill also makes fees collected by the PTO available for the PTO's use without further appropriations from Congress, whereas currently some of the collected fees are subject to appropriations.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Imposes additional requirements on administrative patent validity challenges, such as prohibiting the same judge from both instituting and deciding the final outcome of an inter partes review (IPR)
Restricts who can petition for an IPR to only those who have been sued for or charged with infringing the patent
Raises the burden of proof for petitioners in an IPR to invalidate a previously-issued patent claim
Makes universities and nonprofits eligible for reduced patent-related fees

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If this bill becomes law, it would make it more difficult for companies and individuals to challenge existing patents through administrative proceedings. This could protect the patent rights of universities, nonprofits, and companies that hold patents, but may also make it harder for innovators to build on existing technologies. The reduced fees for universities and nonprofits could encourage more patent filings in those sectors.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Commerce

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

4370, 119th Congress (2025). "SAMS Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-4370

Public Opinions

Community submissions related to this bill.

Share your opinion

No public opinions yet. Be the first to submit one for this bill.

Related Bills in Commerce

HR 2832

Defend American Manufacturing Act

Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

HR 2713

MAIN Event Ticketing Act

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

S 1199

SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 134.

HR 1893

LIONs Act of 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.