TAPP Supports PERA to Keep American Innovation in America

On July 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)—bipartisan legislation that represents one of the most significant opportunities in years to strengthen America’s innovation economy. The Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity strongly support PERA because it would restore clarity, certainty, and confidence to the U.S. patent system.

For more than a decade, a series of confusing judicial decisions has created uncertainty about what inventions are eligible for patent protection. Instead of relying on clear statutory law enacted by Congress, inventors and businesses have been forced to navigate vague legal standards that often produce inconsistent results. The uncertainty has been especially damaging for innovators developing breakthrough technologies in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, diagnostics, software, and other emerging industries.

PERA provides a commonsense solution. Rather than expanding patents indiscriminately, the legislation establishes clear, predictable eligibility rules that Congress—not the courts—defines. Inventors deserve to know that if they invest years of research, attract capital, and create transformative technologies, then they can obtain reliable intellectual property protection.

Critics claim PERA would unleash frivolous litigation or allow patents on abstract ideas. The legislation does neither. Existing patentability requirements—including novelty, non-obviousness, written description, and enablement—remain fully intact. PERA simply restores clarity to the threshold question of patent eligibility while preserving every other safeguard against invalid patents.

Strong patent rights are essential to maintaining America’s technological leadership. Investors are more willing to finance risky research when innovators have confidence that their discoveries can be protected. That means more startups, more high-paying jobs, more domestic manufacturing, and greater economic security.

At a time when China and other global competitors are aggressively investing in advanced technologies, the United States cannot afford uncertainty in its innovation ecosystem. Congress should seize this opportunity to modernize patent eligibility, strengthen American competitiveness, and ensure that the next generation of groundbreaking inventions is developed, commercialized, and manufactured here at home. PERA is an important step toward that goal.

This is why TAPP is calling on Congress to move PERA forward without delay.