[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 26 (Wednesday, March 3, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MAKING IN ORDER AMENDMENT IN LIEU OF AMENDMENT PRINTED IN HOUSE REPORT 
  108-431 DURING CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1561, UNITED STATES PATENT AND 
                TRADEMARK FEE MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2003

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
that I have placed at the desk be considered as the amendment printed 
in House Report 108-431 and numbered 1 and that the amendment be 
considered as read for purposes of this unanimous consent request.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

 Amendment to H.R. 1561, as Reported, Offered by Mr. Sensenbrenner of 
                               Wisconsin

       Strike section 5 and insert the following:

     SEC. 5. PATENT AND TRADEMARK FUNDING.

       Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(c)'' and inserting ``(c)(1)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) There is established in the Treasury a Patent and 
     Trademark Fee Reserve Fund. If fee collections by the Patent 
     and Trademark Office for a fiscal year exceed the amount 
     appropriated to the Office for that fiscal year, fees 
     collected in excess of the appropriated amount shall be 
     deposited in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund. After 
     the end of each fiscal year, the Director shall make a 
     finding as to whether the fees collected for that fiscal year 
     exceed the amount appropriated to the Patent and Trademark 
     Office for that fiscal year. If the amount collected exceeds 
     the amount appropriated, the Director shall, if the Director 
     determines that there are sufficient funds in the Reserve 
     Fund, make payments from the Reserve Fund to persons who paid 
     patent or trademark fees during that fiscal year. The 
     Director shall by regulation determine which persons receive 
     such payments and the amount of such payments, except that 
     such payments in the aggregate shall equal the amount of 
     funds deposited in the Reserve Fund during that fiscal year, 
     less the cost of administering the provisions of this 
     paragraph.''.
       In section 6(a), strike ``Except as'' and all that follows 
     through the end of the sentence and insert ``Except as 
     otherwise provided in this Act and this section, this Act and 
     the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 
     1, 2004, or on the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     whichever occurs later.''.
       Page 12, strike lines 17 through 20 and insert the 
     following:
       (d) Adjustments.--
       (1) In general.--Section 41(f) of title 35, United States 
     Code, shall apply to the fees established under the 
     amendments made by this section, beginning in fiscal year 
     2005.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Effective October 1, 2004, 
     section 41(f) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``(a) and (b)'' and inserting ``(a), (b), and (d)''.
       Page 11, add the following after line 24:
       ``(F) The Director shall require that any search by a 
     qualified search authority that is a commercial entity is 
     conducted in the United States by persons that--
       ``(i) if individuals, are United States citizens; and
       ``(ii) if business concerns, are organized under the laws 
     of the United States or any State and employ United States 
     citizens to perform the searches.
       ``(G) A search of an application that is the subject of a 
     secrecy order under section 181 or otherwise involves 
     classified information may only be conducted by Office 
     personnel.
       ``(H) A qualified search authority that is a commercial 
     entity may not conduct a search of a patent application if 
     the entity has any direct or indirect financial interest in 
     any patent or in any pending or imminent application for 
     patent filed or to be filed in the Patent and Trademark 
     Office.
       Page 12, insert the following after line 20 and redesignate 
     the succeeding subsection accordingly:
       (e) Fees for Small Entities.--Section 41(h) of title 35, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Fees charged under 
     subsection (a) or (b)'' and inserting ``Subject to paragraph 
     (3), fees charged under subsections (a), (b), and (d)(1)''; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) The fee charged under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be 
     reduced by 75 percent with respect to its application to any 
     entity to which paragraph (1) applies, if the application is 
     filed by electronic means as prescribed by the Director.''.
       (f) Size Standards for Small Entities.--
       (1) Study.--The Director, in conjunction with the 
     Administrator of the Small Business Administration and the 
     Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
     Administration, shall conduct a study on the effect of patent 
     fees on the ability of small entity inventors to file patent 
     applications. Such study shall examine whether a separate 
     category of reduced patent fees is necessary to ensure 
     adequate development of new technology by small entity 
     inventors.
       (2) Report.--The Director shall, not later than 6 months 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit a report 
     on the results of the study under paragraph (1) to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Small 
     Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary and the Committee on Small Business and 
     Entrepreneurship of the Senate.
       Page 8, line 3, add the following after the period: ``For 
     the 3-year period beginning on October 1, 2004, the fee for a 
     search by a qualified search authority of a patent 
     application described in clause (i), (iv), or (v) of 
     subparagraph (B) may not exceed $500, of a patent application 
     described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) may not exceed 
     $100, and of a patent application described in clause (iii) 
     of subparagraph (B) may not exceed $300. The Director may not 
     increase any such fee by more than 20 percent in each of the 
     next 3 1-year periods, and the Director may not increase any 
     such fee thereafter.''.

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