PREVAIL Act

The PREVAIL Act (HR 4370) reforms U.S. patent law to strengthen protections for inventors and prevent strategic abuse of patent review processes. It requires 3-member panels for patent reviews, prohibits members who participated in instituting a review from hearing it, and creates clearer rules for "real parties in interest" to prevent parties from hiding behind others. The bill establishes a "single forum" rule to prevent parallel patent challenges in court and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and changes evidentiary standards to require clear and convincing evidence for unpatentability claims. These changes aim to make the patent system more efficient and fair for inventors, particularly small businesses and individual innovators, which the bill states are crucial for U.S. economic competitiveness.