The PREVAIL Act overhauls how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handles challenges to patents, primarily targeting the inter partes review and post-grant review processes at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. It restricts who can file these challenges by generally requiring petitioners to have been sued or threatened with an infringement lawsuit, sets stricter time limits and rules to prevent repetitive or duplicative challenges against the same patent, and establishes a code of conduct and clearer procedural rules for board judges, including mandatory three-member panels and firm deadlines for rehearing decisions. It raises the evidentiary bar for challengers by requiring clear and convincing evidence to invalidate a patent, up from the current lower standard, which benefits patent holders including inventors, universities, and small businesses. The bill also ends the diversion of USPTO-collected fees to other government uses by creating a dedicated revolving fund so those fees stay within the agency, expands micro-entity status for university-affiliated inventions, and directs free online access to patent search tools. It affects patent holders, technology companies, universities, and businesses that use the patent challenge system, with most changes taking effect immediately upon enactment except the fee fund change, which begins the next fiscal year, and requires a Small Business Administration report on patent litigation impacts within one year.
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