On September 7, 2007, after a vigorous debate punctuated by severe criticism leveled against the bill by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and others, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1908 by a vote of 220-175. The centerpiece of the bill fundamentally changes the U.S. patent system to a first-to-file system, but is contingent upon major world patent authorities adopting a grace period as provided for in the new version of 35 U.S.C. §102. The companion Senate bill, S.1145, contains no such contingency.
Another major provision of the House bill relates to the manner reasonable royalties are calculated (new version of §284) and includes consideration of the economic value of the contribution over the prior art. The "entire market value" is only used where the contribution of the patent is the "predominant basis for the market demand" for the infringement. Where neither an apportioned or entire market value is appropriate, a reasonable royalty analysis would consider non-exclusive
