An amendment made in order by a previous order of the House of today.

1. 1

   Change 1: Rewrites section 5

   Replaces

   In H.R. 1561 · Reported in House

   SEC. 5. PATENT AND TRADEMARK [struck: OFFICE ]FUNDING.

   Section 42[inserted: (c)] of title 35, United States Code, is amended--

   Struck: (1) in subsection (b), by striking "Appropriation"; and

   Struck: (2) in subsection (c), in the first sentence--

   Struck: (A) by striking "To the extent" and all that follows through "fees" and inserting "Fees"; and

   Struck: (B) by striking "shall be collected by and shall be available to the Director" and inserting "shall be collected by the Director and shall be available until expended".

   Inserted: (1) by striking "(c)" and inserting "(c)(1)"; and

   Inserted: (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

   Inserted: "(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.".

   Original wording

   Strike section 5 and insert the following:

2. 2

   Change 2: Replaces “Except as” through the end of the sentence at the section 6(a) with “Except as otherwise provided in this Act and this section, this Act and the amendments ma…”

   Replaces

   [struck: Except as …][inserted: 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.]

   Original wording

   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.”.

3. 3

   Change 3: Rewrites page 12, lines 17–20

   ReplacesPrinted page

   Removes page 12, lines 17–20 of the printed bill. See that page

   Inserted: (d) Adjustments.--

   Inserted: (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.

   Inserted: (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)".

   Original wording

   Page 12, strike lines 17 through 20 and insert the following:

4. 4

   Change 4: Inserts new text on page 11

   InsertsPrinted page
   Original wording

   Page 11, add the following

5. 5

   Change 5: Inserts new text on page 12

   InsertsPrinted page

   Inserted: (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

   Inserted: (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

   Inserted: "(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.".

   Inserted: (f) Size Standards for Small Entities.--

   Inserted: (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.

   Inserted: (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.

   Original wording

   Page 12, insert the following

6. 6

   Change 6: Inserts “For the 3-year period beginning on October 1, 2004, the fee for a search by a qualified s…” on page 8, line 3

   InsertsPrinted page

   Inserted: 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.

   Original wording

   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.”.

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed