[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2192 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2192
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
An Act
To amend title 35, United States Code, to promote cooperative research
involving universities, the public sector, and private enterprises.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cooperative Research and Technology
Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS ON CLAIMED INVENTIONS.
Section 103(c) of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read
as follows:
``(c)(1) Subject matter developed by another person, which
qualifies as prior art only under one or more of subsections (e), (f),
and (g) of section 102 of this title, shall not preclude patentability
under this section where the subject matter and the claimed invention
were, at the time the claimed invention was made, owned by the same
person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person.
``(2) For purposes of this subsection, subject matter developed by
another person and a claimed invention shall be deemed to have been
owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to
the same person if--
``(A) the claimed invention was made by or on behalf of parties
to a joint research agreement that was in effect on or before the
date the claimed invention was made;
``(B) the claimed invention was made as a result of activities
undertaken within the scope of the joint research agreement; and
``(C) the application for patent for the claimed invention
discloses or is amended to disclose the names of the parties to the
joint research agreement.
``(3) For purposes of paragraph (2), the term `joint research
agreement' means a written contract, grant, or cooperative agreement
entered into by two or more persons or entities for the performance of
experimental, developmental, or research work in the field of the
claimed invention.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any
patent granted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Special Rule.--The amendments made by this Act shall not affect
any final decision of a court or the United States Patent and Trademark
Office rendered before the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall
not affect the right of any party in any action pending before the
United States Patent and Trademark Office or a court on the date of the
enactment of this Act to have that party's rights determined on the
basis of the provisions of title 35, United States Code, in effect on
the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.