ETHIC Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 3269 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3269 To address patent thickets. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 8, 2025 Mr. Arrington (for himself, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Issa, Ms. Jayapal, and Mr. Pfluger) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To address patent thickets. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminating Thickets to Increase Competition Act'' or the ``ETHIC Act''. SEC. 2. ADDRESSING PATENT THICKETS. (a) Limit on Number of Patents Per Patent Group That May Be Asserted in Action for Infringement.--Section 271(e) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(7)(A) A person who brings an action for infringement of a patent under this section against a party described in subparagraph (B) may assert in the action not more than one patent per Patent Group. ``(B) A party described in this subparagraph is-- ``(i) a person who-- ``(I) submits an application for approval of a drug under subsection (b)(2) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355), or is a holder of such an approved application; or ``(II) submits an application for licensure of a biological product under section 351(k) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(k)), or is a holder of such a licensure; or ``(ii) a person making, using, selling, offering for sale, introducing or delivering into interstate commerce, or importing-- ``(I) a drug approved pursuant to an application under subsection (b)(2) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355); or ``(I