[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2024 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2024

    To amend title 35, United States Code, to require disclosure of 
    ownership and transfers of ownership of patents, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2013

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 35, United States Code, to require disclosure of 
    ownership and transfers of ownership of patents, 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 ``End Anonymous Patents Act''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF OWNERSHIP OF PATENTS.

    (a) Disclosure of Ownership of Patents.--Section 261 of title 35, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the first paragraph, by striking ``Subject'' and 
        inserting ``(a) Personal Property.--Subject'';
            (2) in the second paragraph, by striking ``Applications'' 
        and inserting ``(b) Assignment.--Applications'';
            (3) in the third paragraph, by striking ``A certificate'' 
        and inserting ``(c) Evidence of Execution of Transfer.--A 
        certificate'';
            (4) In the fourth paragraph, by striking ``An assignment'' 
        and inserting ``(d) Notice or Recordation Required.--An 
        assignment''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Disclosures of Ownership.--
            ``(1) New patents.--Upon the issuance of a patent under 
        this title, the entity to which the patent is issued shall file 
        with the Office a disclosure of the owner of the patent and any 
        real party in interest in the patent.
            ``(2) Payment of maintenance fees.--Upon the payment of the 
        maintenance fee required under section 41(b), the owner of the 
        patent shall file with the Office a disclosure of the identity 
        of the owner of the patent and any real party in interest in 
        the patent.
            ``(3) Notice of transfer of ownership.--Whenever any 
        patent, any application for patent, or any interest therein, is 
        sold, granted, or conveyed, the entity to which the patent, 
        application, or interest is sold, granted, or conveyed shall, 
        within 90 days after the date of the sale, grant, or 
        conveyance, file with the Office a disclosure of the sale, 
        grant, or conveyance, and any real party in interest in the 
        patent, application, or interest.
            ``(4)  Form and manner of disclosures.--The Director shall 
        prescribe by regulation the form and manner in which 
        disclosures are to be made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). 
        The Director shall include, among the real parties in interest, 
        for purposes of such disclosures--
                    ``(A) any entity that has the legal right to 
                enforce the patent through an infringement action;
                    ``(B) any ultimate parent entity of an entity 
                described in subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) any entity that has a controlling interest in 
                the enforcement of the patent, including any ultimate 
                parent entity not included under subparagraph (A) or 
                (B).
            ``(5) Limitation on damages.--Any entity that fails to 
        comply with any of the requirements under this subsection with 
        respect to a patent or application for patent may, in any 
        action brought by the person or entity for infringement of the 
        patent, only collect damages from the date on which such 
        requirement is met. The Director shall by regulation specify 
        what constitutes noncompliance for purposes of this paragraph.
            ``(6) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `ultimate 
        parent entity' means an entity that is not controlled by any 
        other entity.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
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