Patent Term Restoration Act of 1997

Summary: Patent Term Restoration Act of 1997 - Amends provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that revise Federal patent law to provide that a patent term shall be the later of 17 years from the date the patent is granted or 20 years from the date the application was filed in the United States.  Provides that if the application contains a reference to the earlier application, the term shall be 20 years from the date the earliest application was filed. 
Requires the term of a patent that is in force or results from an application filed within six months after the Uruguay Round Agreements Act enactment date to be the term provided in this Act. 
Revises Federal patent law requirements for confidentiality of patent applications to set out:  (1) the special circumstances under which such applications can be made public; or (2) in the case of a patent application for an invention for which the applicant intends to file or has filed for a patent in a foreign country, the limited data which the Commissioner of Patents may disclose.  Authorizes an applicant to petition the Commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office to review a determination to publish a patent application.  Prohibits the Commissioner from publishing an application prior to the completion of the review.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. PATENT TERMS.

    (a) Amendment of Title 35.--Effective on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, section 154 of title 35, United States Code, as amended by 
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2) of subsection (a), by striking ``and 
        ending'' and all that follows in that paragraph and inserting 
        ``and ending--
                    ``(A) 17 years from the date of the grant of the 
                patent, or
                    ``(B) 20 years from the date on which the 
                application for the patent was filed in the United 
                States, except that if the application contains a 
                specific reference to an earlier filed application or 
                applications under section 120, 121, or 365(c) of this 
                title, 20 years from the date on which the earliest 
                such patent application was filed,
        whichever is later.''.
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``shall be the 
        greater of the 20-year term as provided in subsection (a), or 
        17 years from grant'' and inserting ``shall be the term 
        provided in subsection (a)''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 534(b) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act is amended by striking paragraph (3).

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES TO PROTECT THE 
              CONFIDENTIALITY STATUS OF APPLICATIONS.

    Section 122 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``as may be determined by the Commissioner'' and inserting ``as in any 
of the following:
            ``(1) In the case of an application under section 111(a) 
        for a patent for an invention for which the applicant intends 
        to file or has filed an application for a patent in a foreign 
        country, the Commissioner may publish, at the discretion of the 
        Commissioner and by means determined suitable for the purpose, 
        no more than that data from such application under section 
        111(a) which will be made or has been made public in such 
        foreign country. Such a publication shall be made only after 
        the date of the publication in such foreign country.
            ``(2)(A) If the Commissioner determines that a patent 
        application which is filed after the date of the enactment of 
        this paragraph--
                    ``(i) has been pending more than 5 years from the 
                effective filing date of the application,
                    ``(ii) has not been previously published by the 
                Patent and Trademark Office,
                    ``(iii) is not under any appellate review by the 
                Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences,
                    ``(iv) is not under interference proceedings in 
                accordance with section 135(a),
                    ``(v) is not under any secrecy order pursuant to 
                section 181,
                    ``(vi) is not being diligently pursued by the 
                applicant in accordance with this title, and
                    ``(vii) is not in abandonment,
        the Commissioner shall notify the applicant of such 
        determination.
            ``(B) An applicant which received notice of a determination 
        described in subparagraph (A) may, within 30 days of receiving 
        such notice, petition the Commissioner to review the 
        determination to verify that subclauses (i) through (vii) are 
        all applicable to the applicant's application. If the applicant 
        makes such a petition, the Commissioner shall not publish the 
        applicant's application before the Commissioner's review of the 
        petition is completed. If the applicant does not submit a 
        petition, the Commissioner may publish the applicant's 
        application no earlier than 90 days after giving such a notice.
            ``(3) If after the date of the enactment of this paragraph 
        a continuing application has been filed more than 6 months 
        after the date of the initial filing of an application, the 
        Commissioner shall notify the applicant under such application. 
        The Commissioner shall establish a procedure for an applicant 
        which receives such a notice to demonstrate that the purpose of 
        the continuing application was for reasons other than to 
        achieve a delay in the time of publication of the application. 
        If the Commissioner agrees with such a demonstration by the 
        applicant, the Commissioner shall not publish the applicant's 
        application. If the Commissioner does not agree with such a 
        demonstration by the applicant or if the applicant does not 
        make an attempt at such a demonstration within a reasonable 
        period of time as determined by the Commissioner, the 
        Commissioner shall publish the applicant's application.
The Commissioner shall ensure that publications under paragraph (1), 
(2), or (3) will not result in third-party pre-issuance oppositions 
which will delay or interfere with the issuance of the patents whose 
applications' data will be published.''.