II
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 139
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011
Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Levin, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide that certain tax planning strategies are not patentable, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Equal
Access to Tax Planning Act
.
Tax strategies deemed within the prior art
In general
For purposes of evaluating an invention under section 102 or 103 of title 35, United States Code, any strategy for reducing, avoiding, or deferring tax liability, whether known or unknown at the time of the invention or application for patent, shall be deemed insufficient to differentiate a claimed invention from the prior art.
Definition
For
purposes of this section, the term tax liability
refers to any
liability for a tax under any Federal, State, or local law, or the law of any
foreign jurisdiction, including any statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance
that levies, imposes, or assesses such tax liability.
Effective date; applicability
This section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to any patent application pending and any patent issued on or after that date.