Representative Thomas Massie has introduced new legislation aimed at reforming the U.S. patent system by restoring the “first to invent” standard for patent protection. The bill, titled the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act of 2025 (RALIA), seeks to reverse changes made by previous Supreme Court rulings and the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.
Massie stated, “RALIA restores a patent system as the Constitution of the United States originally envisioned it to Americans. In Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers gave Congress the authority to protect the discoveries of inventors. Specifically, they created a patent system to ‘promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.’ Regrettably, Congress’s 2011 enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act has worked in concert with several Supreme Court decisions to erode this protection’s strength and value.”
The proposed legislation would move away from awarding patents on a “first to file” basis—a standard adopted in recent years—and return to recognizing inventors who can prove they were first to develop an invention. Massie explained, “As the Constitution intends, RALIA restores patent protection to inventors by awarding patents on a ‘first to invent’ basis rather than the more recently adopted ‘first to file’ standard. A return to a ‘first to invent’ patent protection system ensures that inventors and the investors who back them can be confident that their innovative work and ideas will be safeguarded. Patents should protect those who innovate, not those who win the race to the patent office.”
In addition, RALIA proposes other reforms such as affirming patents as private property rights, allowing inventors greater ability to obtain injunctions against intellectual property theft, abolishing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board so inventors can defend their inventions in court, and ending automatic publication of patent applications unless a patent is granted.
The bill has received support from various organizations including US Inventor. Randy Landreneau, President of US Inventor, said: “For two decades, misguided changes—driven by large corporations seeking dominance—have gutted the rights of American inventors and startups. The result: weakened innovation, rising monopolies, and China gaining ground in critical technologies. It’s time to fully restore inventors’ constitutional rights and unleash American innovation once again. RALIA does exactly that.”
Original cosponsors for RALIA include Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
Thomas Massie currently serves in Congress representing Kentucky’s 4th district after replacing Geoff Davis in 2012; he previously served in state government roles including as Lewis County Judge Executive.
Massie was born in Huntington, West Virginia in 1971; he is now 52 years old and lives in Garrison.
He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1993.
The full text for RALIA is available at this link.
