[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LEGISLATION PASSES HOUSE

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, three intellectual property bills 
have passed the House in the last 2 weeks. They were based on two 
principles essential to a democracy: the protection of intellectual 
property rights and the freedom to exchange goods and services in the 
marketplace. The Patent and Trademark Office Fee Act protects the 
rights of American inventors, from the lone individual working in their 
garage, to the small business person with a breakthrough idea, to the 
large high-tech company that applies for hundreds of patents. The 
Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act benefits artists, 
songwriters, music publishers and Web casters. The Cooperative Research 
and Technology Enhancement Act allows researchers and inventors who 
work for different organizations to share information without losing 
the ability to file for a patent.
  These three bills await action in the Senate where I hope they will 
become law. American jobs and profits are at stake.

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