Patent Sovereignty Act of 1997

Summary: Patent Sovereignty Act of 1997 - Amends Federal patent law to declare all examination and search duties for the grant of U.S. letters patent to be sovereign functions which shall be performed within the United States by U.S. citizens who are Government employees. 
Requires (current law authorizes) the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to revise and maintain the classification by subject matter of all U.S. letters patent.  Requires such patents, and all such other patents and printed publications, to be maintained in the examiners' search files under the U.S. Patent Classification System. 
Requires all patent examiners to spend at least five percent of their annual duty time in training to maintain and develop legal and technical skills useful for patent examination.  Directs the Patent and Trademark Office (Office) to develop an incentive program to retain patent examiners of primary examiner grade or higher to train other patent examiners who have not achieved such grade. 
Prohibits the Office from being subject to any administratively or statutorily imposed limitations on positions or personnel.  Allows patent fees to be retained by the Office to carry out its activities, including the training of patent examiners, in such allocations as approved by the Congress.  Requires the Office to make public all Office solicitations for goods and services, as well as all such contracts entered into by the Office.  Requires publication in the Federal Register of notice of a proposal to change U.S. patent law that will be made on behalf of the United States to a foreign country or international body.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Patent Sovereignty Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the quality of United States letters patent is 
        essential for preserving the technological lead and economic 
        well-being of the United States in the next century;
            (2) the quality of United States letters patent is highly 
        dependent upon the maintenance and the comprehensiveness of 
        patent examiners' search files; and
            (3) the quality of United States letters patent is 
        inextricably linked to the professionalism of patent examiners 
        and the quality of the training of patent examiners.

SEC. 3. SECURE PATENT EXAMINATION.

    Section 3 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end thereof the following:
    ``(f) All examination and search duties for the grant of United 
States letters patent are sovereign functions which shall be performed 
within the United States by United States citizens who are employees of 
the United States Government.''.

SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF EXAMINERS' SEARCH FILES.

    Section 9 of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``may revise and maintain'' and inserting 
        ``shall maintain and revise''; and
            (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: ``United 
        States letters patent, and all such other patents and printed 
        publications shall be maintained in the examiners' search files 
        under the United States Patent Classification System.''.

SEC. 5. PATENT EXAMINER TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 15. Patent examiner training
    ``(a) In General.--All patent examiners shall spend at least 5 
percent of their duty time per annum in training to maintain and 
develop the legal and technological skills useful for patent 
examination.
    ``(b) Trainers of Examiners.--The Patent and Trademark Office shall 
develop an incentive program to retain as employees patent examiners of 
the primary examiner grade or higher who are eligible for retirement, 
for the sole purpose of training patent examiners who have not achieved 
the grade of primary examiner.''.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

    (a) Limitations on Personnel.--Section 3(a) of title 35, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 
``The Office shall not be subject to any administratively or 
statutorily imposed limitation on positions or personnel, and no 
positions or personnel of the Office shall be taken into account for 
purposes of applying any such limitation.''.
    (b) Retention of Fees.--(1) Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 
905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after the item relating to the 
National Credit Union Administration, credit union share insurance 
fund, the following new item:
            ``Patent and Trademark Office''.
    (2) Section 10101(b)(2)(B) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1990 (35 U.S.C. 41 note) is amended by striking ``, to the extent 
provided in appropriation Acts,'' and inserting ``without 
appropriation''.
    (3) Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by 
amending by striking first sentence and inserting the following: 
``Revenues from fees shall be available to the Commissioner to carry 
out the activities of the Patent and Trademark Office, in such 
allocations as are approved by Act of Congress. Such revenues shall not 
be made available for any purpose other than that authorized for the 
Patent and Trademark Office.''.
    (c) Compensation of Commissioner.--(1) Section 5314 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``Under Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents 
        and Trademarks.''.
    (2) Section 3(d) of title 35, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(d) The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks shall be an Under 
Secretary of Commerce.''.
    (3) Section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``Commissioner of Patents, Department of Commerce.''.
    (d) Use of Fees.--Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following: ``All patent 
application fees collected under paragraphs (1), (3)(A), (3)(B), and 
(4) through (8) of section 41(a), and all other fees collected under 
section 41 for services or the extension of services to be provided by 
patent examiners shall be used only for the pay and training of patent 
examiners.''.
    (e) Publications.--Section 11 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
    ``(c) The Patent and Trademark Office shall make available for 
public inspection during regular business hours all solicitations 
issued by the Office for contracts for goods or services, and all 
contracts for goods or services entered into by the Office.
    ``(d) Notice of a proposal to change United States patent law that 
will be made on behalf of the United States to a foreign country or 
international body shall be published in the Federal Register before, 
or at the same time as, the proposal is transmitted.''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.