[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3723 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3723

  To authorize funds for the payment of salaries and expenses of the 
          Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 1998

  Mr. Coble introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize funds for the payment of salaries and expenses of the 
          Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes.

    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 ``United States Patent and Trademark 
Office Reauthorization Act, Fiscal Year 1999''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be made available for the payment of 
salaries and necessary expenses of the Patent and Trademark Office in 
fiscal year 1999, $66,000,000 from fees collected in fiscal year 1998 
and such fees as are collected in fiscal year 1999, pursuant to title 
35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051 
et seq.). Amounts made available pursuant to this section shall remain 
available until expended.

SEC. 3. LEVEL OF FEES FOR PATENT SERVICES.

    (a) General Patent Fees.--Section 41 of title 35, United States 
Code, is amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(a) The Commissioner shall charge the following fees:
            ``(1)(A) On filing each application for an original patent, 
        except in design or plant cases, $760.
            ``(B) In addition, on filing or on presentation at any 
        other time, $78 for each claim in independent form which is in 
        excess of 3, $18 for each claim (whether independent or 
        dependent) which is in excess of 20, and $260 for each 
        application containing a multiple dependent claim.
            ``(C) On filing each provisional application for an 
        original patent, $150.
            ``(2) For issuing each original or reissue patent, except 
        in design or plant cases, $1,210.
            ``(3) In design and plant cases--
                    ``(A) on filing each design application, $310;
                    ``(B) on filing each plant application, $480;
                    ``(C) on issuing each design patent, $430; and
                    ``(D) on issuing each plant patent, $580.
            ``(4)(A) On filing each application for the reissue of a 
        patent, $760.
            ``(B) In addition, on filing or on presentation at any 
        other time, $78 for each claim in independent form which is in 
        excess of the number of independent claims of the original 
        patent, and $18 for each claim (whether independent or 
        dependent) which is in excess of 20 and also in excess of the 
        number of claims of the original patent.
            ``(5) On filing each disclaimer, $110.
            ``(6)(A) On filing an appeal from the examiner to the Board 
        of Patent Appeals and Interferences, $300.
            ``(B) In addition, on filing a brief in support of the 
        appeal, $300, and on requesting an oral hearing in the appeal 
        before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, $260.
            ``(7) On filing each petition for the revival of an 
        unintentionally abandoned application for a patent or for the 
        unintentionally delayed payment of the fee for issuing each 
        patent, $1,210, unless the petition is filed under section 133 
        or 151 of this title, in which case the fee shall be $110.
            ``(8) For petitions for 1-month extensions of time to take 
        actions required by the Commissioner in an application--
                    ``(A) on filing a first petition, $110;
                    ``(B) on filing a second petition, $270; and
                    ``(C) on filing a third petition or subsequent 
                petition, $490.
            ``(9) Basic national fee for an international application 
        where the Patent and Trademark Office was the International 
        Preliminary Examining Authority and the International Searching 
        Authority, $670.
            ``(10) Basic national fee for an international application 
        where the Patent and Trademark Office was the International 
        Searching Authority but not the International Preliminary 
        Examining Authority, $760.
            ``(11) Basic national fee for an international application 
        where the Patent and Trademark Office was neither the 
        International Searching Authority nor the International 
        Preliminary Examining Authority, $970.
            ``(12) Basic national fee for an international application 
        where the international preliminary examination fee has been 
        paid to the Patent and Trademark Office, and the international 
        preliminary examination report states that the provisions of 
        Article 33 (2), (3), and (4) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty 
        have been satisfied for all claims in the application entering 
        the national stage, $96.
            ``(13) For filing or later presentation of each independent 
        claim in the national stage of an international application in 
        excess of 3, $78.
            ``(14) For filing or later presentation of each claim 
        (whether independent or dependent) in a national stage of an 
        international application in excess of 20, $18.
            ``(15) For each national stage of an international 
        application containing a multiple dependent claim, $260.
For the purpose of computing fees, a multiple dependent claim referred 
to in section 112 of this title or any claim depending therefrom shall 
be considered as separate dependent claims in accordance with the 
number of claims to which reference is made. Errors in payment of the 
additional fees may be rectified in accordance with regulations of the 
Commissioner.''.
    (b) Patent Maintenance Fees.--Section 41 of title 35, United States 
Code, is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(b) The Commissioner shall charge the following fees for 
maintaining in force all patents based on applications filed on or 
after December 12, 1980:
            ``(1) 3 years and 6 months after grant, $940.
            ``(2) 7 years and 6 months after grant, $1,900.
            ``(3) 11 years and 6 months after grant, $2,910.
Unless payment of the applicable maintenance fee is received in the 
Patent and Trademark Office on or before the date the fee is due or 
within a grace period of 6 months thereafter, the patent will expire as 
of the end of such grace period. The Commissioner may require the 
payment of a surcharge as a condition of accepting within such 6-month 
grace period the payment of an applicable maintenance fee. No fee may 
be established for maintaining a design or plant patent in force.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF COLLECTION AND EXPENDITURE.

    Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by 
striking the first sentence and inserting the following: ``To the 
extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts, 
fees authorized in this title or any other Act to be charged or 
established by the Commissioner shall be collected and shall be 
available to the Commissioner to carry out the activities of the Patent 
and Trademark Office.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
October 1, 1998.
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