An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 110-319 to change the section relating to United States Patent and Trademark Office regulatory authority by adding the requirement that Congress be provided 60 days to review regulations before they take effect. Congress may bar implementation of the regulation by enactment of a joint resolution of disapproval.

Page 67, insert the following after line 7:

(c) Effective Date of Regulations.--

(1) Review by congress.--A regulation promulgated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office under section 2(b)(2) of title 35, United States Code, with respect to any matter described in section 2(c)(6) of such title, as added by subsection (a) of this section, may not take effect before the end of a period of 60 days beginning on the date on which the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office submits to each House of Congress a copy of the regulation, together with a report containing the reasons for its adoption. The regulation and report so submitted shall be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

(2) Joint resolution of disapproval.--If a joint resolution of disapproval with respect to the regulation is enacted into law, the regulation shall not become effective or continue in effect.

(3) Joint resolution defined.--For purposes of this subsection, the term a “joint resolution of disapproval” means a joint resolution, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: “That Congress disapproves the regulation submitted by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on ___ relating to ___, and such regulation shall have no force or effect.”, with the first space being filled with the appropriate date, and the second space being filled with a description of the regulation at issue.

(4) Referral.--A joint resolution of disapproval shall be referred in the House of Representatives to the Committee on the Judiciary and in the Senate to the Committee on the Judiciary.

(5) Floor consideration.--A vote on final passage of a joint resolution of disapproval shall be taken in each House on or before the close of the 15th day after the bill or resolution is reported by the committee of that House to which it was referred or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the joint resolution of disapproval.

(6) No inferences.--If the Congress does not enact a joint resolution of disapproval, no court or agency may infer therefrom any intent of the Congress with regard to such regulation or action.

(7) Calculation of days.--The 60-day period referred to in paragraph (1) and the 15-day period referred to in paragraph (5) shall be computed by excluding--

(A) the days on which either House of Congress is not in session because of an adjournment of the Congress sine die; and

(B) any Saturday and Sunday, not excluded under subparagraph (A), when either House is not in session.

(8) Rulemaking authority.--This subsection is enacted by the Congress as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively.