Congress expands patent rights, potentially raising drug and tech prices

What it does

This bill eliminates judicial exceptions to patent eligibility and restores a broad right to patent any useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter—except for pure math formulas, mental processes, unmodified genes or natural materials, and business/economic processes that don't require a machine. It shifts patent law away from decades of court-created restrictions and makes it easier for inventors (especially in software, biotech, and business methods) to obtain patents, though it preserves existing requirements for novelty, non-obviousness, and proper description.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is to eliminate judicial exceptions to patent eligibility and restore a statutory baseline that favors patentability. It is a deregulatory measure in patent law, not a new restriction or public-safety mandate.

What the text implies

• Software patents become significantly easier to obtain, potentially enabling patent thickets that raise barriers to entry for startups and increase licensing costs across the tech industry.
• Biotech and pharmaceutical companies gain broader patent rights over genetic sequences and isolated natural materials, potentially restricting downstream research and raising drug/treatment costs.
• Business-method patents are narrowed but not eliminated—processes that require a machine remain patentable, creating ambiguity and litigation risk around AI, automation, and fintech innovations.
• The bill eliminates the 'abstract idea' and 'law of nature' exceptions that courts have used to deny patents; this may flood the USPTO with applications and increase examination backlogs.
• Existing patent holders in software and biotech may see their patents strengthened against invalidity challenges, reducing litigation risk and increasing their market power.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens benefit from broader innovation incentives and potentially faster development of new technologies (software, biotech, medical devices), but face countervailing costs: patent thickets may raise consumer prices for drugs and devices, litigation costs may increase, and overly broad patents on business methods or genetic sequences may restrict competition and access. The net effect depends on implementation and enforcement, which the bill does not address.

Who stands to gain

• software and technology companies
• pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms
• patent-holding entities and patent trolls
• large corporations with existing patent portfolios

Named in the bill

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court, software industry, pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology industry

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• May 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• May 1, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

43 lobbying clients named this bill on 61 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $42,427,084 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 99% of bills with at least one filing.

Thom Tillis, the sponsor, reported $973,475 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $10,500 of that came from 4 PACs tied to these lobbying clients.

• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — $15,770,000 on 2 filings
• Amazon.com Services LLC — $4,360,000 on 1 filing
• Microsoft Corporation — $2,690,000 on 1 filing
• Amgen Inc — $2,440,000 on 1 filing
• Biotechnology Innovation Organization — $2,360,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.