Why It Matters
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a patent eligibility hearing on July 14 that will examine one of the most consequential battles in intellectual property law: what kinds of innovations can actually be patented.
The hearing comes as Congress considers the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, which would fundamentally rewrite the rules that have governed patent eligibility for over a decade. The bill aims to eliminate the Alice/Mayo framework, a set of judicial exceptions that have blocked patents on abstract ideas and natural phenomena.
The Big Picture
The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, led by Sens. Thom Tillis and Chris Coons, would restore eligibility for diagnostics, gene editing, and software innovations while clearly defining statutory carveouts for unmodified genes and natural phenomena. The bill was reintroduced in May 2025 after gaining traction in earlier Congressional sessions.
Recent court decisions and policy shifts have intensified pressure on both sides. The REGENXBIO v. Sarepta ruling, widely analyzed in the IP community as recently as May and June 2026, exposed gaps in how patent eligibility is applied to gene therapy. Meanwhile, the USPTO's reversal of AI patent guidance created fresh uncertainty for AI and tech companies heading into 2026, according to analysis from Venable LLP.
Lobbying and Industry Stakes
The hearing has drawn sustained lobbying attention from companies with direct stakes in the outcome. Cisco Systems filed disclosures on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act in the Second Quarter of 2025. The Association for Accessible Medicines, which represents generic drug manufacturers, lobbied on legislative proposals relating to patent eligibility before terminating its disclosure in the third quarter of 2025. Council for Innovation Promotion filed disclosures in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 focused on intellectual property and innovation policy oversight, including the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act. Unified Patents has consistently lobbied against weakening the Patent Trial and Appeals Board while also filing disclosures on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act across multiple quarters.
The Bottom Line
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Chuck Grassley, will hold the hearing titled "Hearings To Examine Genes To Machines, Focusing On The Patent Eligibility Debate" on Tuesday, July 14. Sen. Dick Durbin serves as Ranking Member.
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