Tillis Vows to Fix Patent Eligibility ‘Mess’ With Legal Reforms

The federal law that governs patent eligibility is “a total mess” and Congress needs to reform it, Sen. Thom Tillis told a group of intellectual property leaders in Washington March 26.

Tillis (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, said his panel plans to host hearings to “finally get a baseline” on Section 101 of the patent law, which defines what inventions are eligible for patenting, and then draft proposals “that just make sense,” such as codifying rules and policies put forth by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“If we don’t do something, we’re going to ...