[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 163 (Wednesday, November 17, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A CLARIFICATION FOR THE PATENT AND TRADEMARK PROVISIONS IN H.R. 1554, 
     AS PASSED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON NOVEMBER 9, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 1999

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1554, the Satellite Home Viewer Act, 
includes most of the legislation that would impact the U.S. Patent 
system. I worked closely with the authors of the bill in the House of 
Representatives. I appreciate the time they took to listen to my strong 
concerns about the original bill, H.R. 1907, which passed in the House 
overwhelmingly this past August. I offer these remarks, however, to 
create a legislative history and to clarify language in one of the 
sections I believed needed reworking--the title concerning Third Party 
Re-Examination.
  Under Subtitle F--Optional Inter Partes Reexamination Procedure, 
Section 4605 Conforming Amendments, paragraph (b) contains what I 
believe to be a technical error. Section 134 of title 35 of the United 
States Code is amended in two sub-paragraphs (a) and (b). H.R. 1554 
uses the term ``administrative patent judge'' where it should read 
``primary examiner,'' in both paragraphs. Therefore, this section 
should read,
  Section 134 of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
  ``Section 134. Appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and 
Interferences
  ``(a) Patent Applicant.--An applicant for a patent, any of whose 
claims has been twice rejected, may appeal from the decision of the 
primary examiner to the Board of Patent Appeals and interferences, 
having once paid the fee for such appeal.
  ``(b) Patent Owner.--A patent owner in any reexamination proceeding 
may appeal from the final rejection of any claim by the primary 
examiner to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, having once 
paid the fee for such appeal.''
  I thank the Speaker for his indulgence in allowing me this 
opportunity to clarify the language of this section of H.R. 1554.

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