[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3318-S3319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6111. Mrs. BLACKBURN submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by her to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. PILOT PROGRAM FOR EXPEDITING EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN
CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY PATENT
APPLICATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered application.--The term ``covered application''
means an application for patent that contains at least 1
claimed invention directed to an eligible critical or
emerging technology.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director
of the Office.
(3) Eligible critical or emerging technology.--The term
``eligible critical or emerging technology'' means--
(A) an artificial intelligence capability relating to--
(i) machine learning;
(ii) deep learning;
(iii) reinforcement learning;
(iv) sensory perception or recognition;
(v) an artificial intelligence assurance or assessment
technique;
(vi) a foundation model;
(vii) a generative artificial intelligence system or
multimodal or large language model;
(viii) a synthetic data approach for training, tuning, or
testing;
(ix) planning, reasoning, or decision making; or
(x) the improvement of artificial intelligence safety,
trust, security, or responsible use;
(B) semiconductor design or an electronic design automation
tool; or
(C) a quantum information science capability relating to--
(i) quantum computing;
(ii) materials, isotopes, or fabrication techniques for
quantum devices;
(iii) quantum sensing; or
(iv) quantum communications or networking.
(4) Expedite.--The term ``expedite'' means, with respect to
a covered application, to advance that covered application
out of turn through the use of a petition to make special.
(5) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
(6) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the
pilot program established under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a pilot
program to expedite the examination, under section 131 of
title 35, United States Code, of covered applications.
(c) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program shall be to
encourage innovation by, and the leadership of, the United
States with respect to critical or emerging technologies by
ensuring that covered applications receive prompt
consideration.
(d) Implementation.--In carrying out the pilot program, the
Director may--
(1) by regulation, and in addition to the requirements
under subsection (e), prescribe the conditions under which a
covered application shall be accepted and examined under the
pilot program, including--
(A) the requirements to participate in the pilot program;
(B) internal processing by the Office of covered
applications under the pilot program;
(C) requirements for restriction or unity of inventions
identified in covered applications;
(D) the period during which the applicant submitting the
covered application may reply with respect to an action taken
by the Office with respect to the covered application;
(E) standards relating to a reply described in subparagraph
(D);
(F) standards or procedures governing--
(i) any amendment, affidavit, or other evidence filed after
a final action taken by the Office with respect to the
covered application; and
(ii) any process for appeal with respect to a final action
described in clause (i); and
(G) the withdrawal, by an applicant, of a covered
application submitted under the pilot program;
(2) waive--
(A) the petition fee described in section 1.102(d) of title
37, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation;
or
(B) any other requirement of the Office relating to the
accelerated examination program or the prioritized
examination program; and
(3) consult with the Attorney General, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, or the head
of any other Federal agency, as may be appropriate to carry
out the pilot program.
(e) Qualifying Applications.--To best achieve the purpose
of the pilot program, the Director shall ensure that a
covered application satisfies the following requirements to
qualify for the pilot program:
(1) The applicant submitting the covered application--
(A) is not a foreign entity of concern, as defined in
section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C.
4651); and
(B) certifies in the covered application that the inventor
or any joint inventor with respect to any claimed invention
in the covered application has not been named as the inventor
or joint inventor with respect to more than 4 other covered
applications submitted under the pilot program.
(2) The covered application is a noncontinuing,
nonprovisional application for an original utility patent
filed under section 111(a) of title 35, United States Code,
that does not claim any domestic benefit under section 120,
121, 365(c), or 386(c) of that title.
(f) Termination.--
(1) In general.--The pilot program shall terminate on the
earlier of the following:
(A) The date that is 5 years after the date on which the
Director first accepts a covered application for
participation in the pilot program.
(B) The date on which the Director has accepted 15,000
covered applications for participation in the pilot program,
without regard to whether those covered applications have
been expedited under the pilot program.
(2) Renewal.--If the pilot program terminates under
paragraph (1)(B), the Director may renew the pilot program
for the shorter of the following:
[[Page S3319]]
(A) An additional 5-year period, beginning on the date on
which the pilot program terminates under paragraph (1)(B).
(B) An additional period--
(i) beginning on the date on which the pilot program
terminates under paragraph (1)(B); and
(ii) ending on the date on which the Director has accepted
an additional 15,000 covered applications for participation
in the pilot program, without regard to whether those covered
applications have been expedited under the pilot program.
(3) Notice of renewal.--The Director shall notify the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives of the intent
of the Director to renew the pilot program under paragraph
(2) not later than the date that is the earlier of the
following:
(A) The date that is 60 days before the date described in
paragraph (1)(A).
(B) The date that is 30 days after the date on which the
Director has accepted 12,000 covered applications for
participation in the pilot program, without regard to whether
those covered applications have been expedited under the
pilot program.
(g) Public Availability of Information.--The Director shall
make publicly available in an easily accessible location on
the website of the Office information about the pilot
program, including--
(1) the number of covered applications submitted under the
pilot program;
(2) the number of covered applications described in
paragraph (1) that the Director has accepted for
participation in the pilot program; and
(3) the number of patents that have been issued for
inventions claimed in covered applications expedited under
the pilot program.
(h) Report to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the pilot program terminates (including any renewal of
the pilot program under subsection (f)(2)), the Director
shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives a report that assesses the impact and
effectiveness of the pilot program based on all available
data.
(2) Applicability.--The collection of any data for the
purposes of carrying out paragraph (1) shall be exempt from
subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'').
______