[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 632 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 632

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                                 AN ACT

   To enhance fairness in compensating owners of patents used by the 
                             United States.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 632

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To enhance fairness in compensating owners of patents used by the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. JUST COMPENSATION.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 1498(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end of the first paragraph the following: 
``Reasonable and entire compensation shall include the owner's 
reasonable costs, including reasonable fees for expert witnesses and 
attorneys, in pursuing the action if the owner is an independent 
inventor, a nonprofit organization, or an entity that had no more than 
500 employees at any time during the 5-year period preceding the use or 
manufacture of the patented invention by or for the United States. 
Reasonable and entire compensation described in the preceding sentence 
shall not be paid from amounts available under section 1304 of title 
31, but shall be payable subject to such extent or in such amounts as 
are provided in annual appropriations Acts.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to actions under section 1498(a) of title 28, United States Code, 
that are pending on, or brought on or after, January 1, 1995.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 12, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.