II 

Calendar No. 571 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2773 

To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to address satellite offices 

of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

DECEMBER 1, 2022 

Reported by Mr. DURBIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to address 

satellite offices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unleashing American 

5 Innovators Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

5 Property and Director of the Office. 

6 (2) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

7 United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

8 (3) PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAMS.—The term 

9 ‘‘patent pro bono programs’’ means the programs 

10 established pursuant to section 32 of the Leahy11 Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 2 note). 

12 (4) SOUTHEAST REGION OF THE UNITED

13 STATES.—The term ‘‘southeast region of the United 

14 States’’ means the area of the United States that is 

15 comprised of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, 

16 South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Ala17 bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. 

18 SEC. 3. SATELLITE OFFICES. 

19 (a) AMENDMENTS TO PURPOSE AND REQUIRED CON20 SIDERATIONS.—Section 23 of the Leahy-Smith America 

21 Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘increase outreach ac25 tivities to’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘Office’’ the fol2 lowing: ‘‘, including by increasing outreach 

3 activities, including to individual 

4 innovators, small businesses, veterans, and 

5 any other demographic group or category 

6 of innovators that the Director may deter7 mine, after notice in the Federal Register, 

8 to be underrepresented in patent filings’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) enhance patent examiner and administra13 tive patent judge retention, including patent exam14 iners and administrative patent judges from eco15 nomically, geographically, and demographically di16 verse backgrounds;’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

21 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(F) with respect to each office established 

24 after January 1, 2021, shall consider the prox25 imity of the office to anchor institutions (such 


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1 as hospitals primarily serving veterans and in2 stitutions of higher education) and populations 

3 that the Director may determine to be under4 represented in patent filings, including rural 

5 populations.’’. 

6 (b) SOUTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

9 establish a satellite office of the Office in the south10 east region of the United States. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—When establishing the 

12 office required under paragraph (1), the Director 

13 shall consider the following: 

14 (A) The number of patent-intensive indus15 tries located near the selection site. 

16 (B) How many research-intensive institu17 tions, including institutions of higher education, 

18 are located near the selection site. 

19 (C) The State and local government legal 

20 and business frameworks that support intellec21 tual property-intensive industries located near 

22 the selection site. 

23 (c) STUDY ON ADDITIONAL SATELLITE OFFICES.— 

24 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Director shall complete a study to determine 


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1 whether additional satellite offices of the Office are nec2 essary to— 

3 (1) achieve the purposes described in section 

4 23(b) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 

5 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended by this section; and 

6 (2) increase participation in the patent system 

7 by women, people of color, veterans, individual in8 ventors, or members of any other demographic, geo9 graphic, or economic group that the Director may 

10 determine to be underrepresented in patent filings. 

11 SEC. 4. COMMUNITY OUTREACH OFFICES. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

14 and (3), not later than 5 years after the date of en15 actment of this Act, the Director shall establish not 

16 fewer than 2 community outreach offices in each re17 gion of the United States that, as of that date of en18 actment, is served by— 

19 (A) a satellite office of the Office; or 

20 (B) the principal office of the Office. 

21 (2) RESTRICTION.—No community outreach of22 fice established under paragraph (1) may be located 

23 in the same State as— 

24 (A) the principal office of the Office; or 

25 (B) any satellite office of the Office. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENT FOR NORTHERN NEW ENG2 LAND REGION.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es4 tablish not less than 1 community outreach of5 fice under this subsection in the northern New 

6 England region, which shall serve the States of 

7 Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. 

8 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

9 the location for the office required to be estab10 lished under subparagraph (A), the Director 

11 shall give preference to a location in which— 

12 (i) as of the date of enactment of this 

13 Act— 

14 (I) there is located not less than 

15 1 public institution of higher edu16 cation and not less than 1 private in17 stitution of higher education; and 

18 (II) there are located not more 

19 than 15 registered patent attorneys, 

20 according to data from the Office of 

21 Enrollment and Discipline of the Of22 fice; and 

23 (ii) according to data from the 2012 

24 Survey of Business Owners conducted by 

25 the Bureau of the Census, less than 45 


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1 percent of the firms are owned by women, 

2 minorities, or veterans. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the community out4 reach offices established under subsection (a) are to— 

5 (1) further achieve the purposes described in 

6 section 23(b)(1) of the Leahy-Smith America In7 vents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended by this 

8 Act; 

9 (2) partner with local community organizations, 

10 institutions of higher education, research institu11 tions, and businesses to create community-based 

12 programs that— 

13 (A) provide education regarding the patent 

14 system; and 

15 (B) promote the career benefits of innova16 tion and entrepreneurship; and 

17 (3) educate prospective inventors, including vet18 erans, individual inventors, and individuals from de19 mographic, geographic, or economic groups that the 

20 Director may determine to be underrepresented in 

21 patent filings, about all public and private resources 

22 available to potential patent applicants, including the 

23 patent pro bono programs. 

24 (c) SUBORDINATE TO SATELLITE OFFICES.—The 

25 community outreach offices established under this section 


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1 shall be subordinate, and report directly, to the principal 

2 office of the Office or the satellite office of the Office that 

3 corresponds to the region in which that community out4 reach office is located, as applicable. 

5 SEC. 5. UPDATES TO THE PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAM. 

6 (a) STUDY AND UPDATES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

9 shall— 

10 (A) complete a study of the patent pro 

11 bono programs; and 

12 (B) submit the results of the study re13 quired under subparagraph (A) to the Com14 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

15 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

16 Representatives. 

17 (2) SCOPE OF THE STUDY.—The study required 

18 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

19 (A) assess— 

20 (i) whether the patent pro bono pro21 grams, as in effect on the date on which 

22 the study is commenced, are sufficiently 

23 serving veterans, individual inventors, and 

24 members of demographic, geographic, and 

25 economic groups that the Director may deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Dec 02, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2773.RS S2773

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1 termine to be underrepresented in patent 

2 filings; 

3 (ii) whether the patent pro bono pro4 grams are sufficiently funded to serve pro5 spective participants; 

6 (iii) whether the participation require7 ments of the patent pro bono programs, in8 cluding the requirement to demonstrate 

9 knowledge of the patent system, serve as a 

10 deterrent for prospective participants; 

11 (iv) the degree to which prospective 

12 inventors are aware of the patent pro bono 

13 programs; 

14 (v) the degree to which the length of 

15 prosecution time for pro bono applicants 

16 serves as a deterrent for attorneys to par17 ticipate in the patent pro bono programs; 

18 and 

19 (vi) any other issue the Director de20 termines appropriate; and 

21 (B) make recommendations for such ad22 ministrative and legislative action as may be ap23 propriate. 

24 (b) USE OF RESULTS.—Upon completion of the study 

25 required under subsection (a), the Director shall work 


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1 with the Patent Pro Bono Advisory Council, existing re2 gional programs, and intellectual property law associations 

3 across the United States to update the patent pro bono 

4 programs in response to the findings of the study. 

5 (c) EXPANSION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY.—The Di6 rector shall work with and support existing (as of the date 

7 of enactment of this Act) regional programs and intellec8 tual property law associations across the United States to 

9 expand eligibility for the patent pro bono programs to an 

10 individual living in a household, the gross household in11 come of which is not more than 400 percent of the Federal 

12 poverty line. 

13 SEC. 6. PRE-PROSECUTION PATENTABILITY ASSESSMENT 

14 PILOT PROGRAM. 

15 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall estab17 lish a pilot program to assist first-time prospective patent 

18 applicants in assessing the viability of a potential patent 

19 application submitted by such a prospective applicant. 

20 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the pilot pro21 gram required under subsection (a), the Director shall es22 tablish— 

23 (1) a notification process to notify a prospective 

24 patent applicant seeking an assessment described in 

25 that subsection that any assessment so provided may 


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1 not be considered an official ruling of patentability 

2 from the Office; 

3 (2) conditions to determine eligibility for the 

4 pilot program, taking into consideration available re5 sources; 

6 (3) reasonable limitations on the amount of 

7 time to be spent providing assistance to each indi8 vidual first-time prospective patent applicant; and 

9 (4) procedures for referring prospective patent 

10 applicants to legal counsel, including through the 

11 patent pro bono programs. 

12 SEC. 7. FEE REDUCTION FOR SMALL AND MICRO ENTITIES. 

13 (a) TITLE 35.—Section 41(h) of title 35, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘75 percent or more, at the discretion 

17 of the Director,’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘75 percent’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘90 percent or more, at the discretion 

20 of the Director,’’. 

21 (b) LEAHY-SMITH AMERICA INVENTS ACT.—Section 

22 10(b) of the Leahy Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 

23 41 note) is amended by striking ‘‘75 percent’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘90 percent or more, at the discretion of the Direc25 tor,’’. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unleashing American 

3 Innovators Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

7 Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Prop8 erty and Director of the Office. 

9 (2) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

10 United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

11 (3) PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAMS.—The term 

12 ‘‘patent pro bono programs’’ means the programs es13 tablished pursuant to section 32 of the Leahy-Smith 

14 America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 2 note). 

15 (4) SOUTHEAST REGION OF THE UNITED

16 STATES.—The term ‘‘southeast region of the United 

17 States’’ means the area of the United States that is 

18 comprised of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, 

19 South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Ala20 bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. 

21 SEC. 3. SATELLITE OFFICES. 

22 (a) AMENDMENTS TO PURPOSE AND REQUIRED CON23 SIDERATIONS.—Section 23 of the Leahy-Smith America In24 vents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 

26 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘increase outreach ac2 tivities to’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘Office’’ the fol4 lowing: ‘‘, including by increasing outreach 

5 activities, including to individual inventors, 

6 small businesses, veterans, low-income popu7 lations, students, rural populations, and 

8 any geographic group of innovators that the 

9 Director may determine to be underrep10 resented in patent filings’’; and 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) enhance patent examiner and administra14 tive patent judge retention, including patent exam15 iners and administrative patent judges from economi16 cally, geographically, and demographically diverse 

17 backgrounds;’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

20 at the end; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

22 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) with respect to each office established 

25 after January 1, 2023, shall consider the proxVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Dec 02, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2773.RS S2773

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1 imity of the office to anchor institutions (such as 

2 hospitals primarily serving veterans and institu3 tions of higher education), individual inventors, 

4 small businesses, veterans, low-income popu5 lations, students, rural populations, and any ge6 ographic group of innovators that the Director 

7 may determine to be underrepresented in patent 

8 filings.’’. 

9 (b) SOUTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

12 establish a satellite office of the Office in the southeast 

13 region of the United States. 

14 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—When selecting a site for 

15 the office required under paragraph (1), the Director 

16 shall consider the following: 

17 (A) The number of patent-intensive indus18 tries located near the site. 

19 (B) How many research-intensive institu20 tions, including institutions of higher education, 

21 are located near the site. 

22 (C) The State and local government legal 

23 and business frameworks that support intellec24 tual property-intensive industries located near 

25 the site. 


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1 (c) STUDY ON ADDITIONAL SATELLITE OFFICES.—Not 

2 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Director shall complete a study to determine whether 

4 additional satellite offices of the Office are necessary to— 

5 (1) achieve the purposes described in section 

6 23(b) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 

7 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended by this section; and 

8 (2) increase participation in the patent system 

9 by individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, 

10 low-income populations, students, rural populations, 

11 and any geographic group of innovators that the Di12 rector may determine to be underrepresented in pat13 ent filings. 

14 SEC. 4. COMMUNITY OUTREACH OFFICES. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) and 

17 (3), not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Director shall establish not fewer than 

19 4 community outreach offices throughout the United 

20 States. 

21 (2) RESTRICTION.—No community outreach of22 fice established under paragraph (1) may be located 

23 in the same State as— 

24 (A) the principal office of the Office; or 

25 (B) any satellite office of the Office. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENT FOR NORTHERN NEW ENG2 LAND REGION.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall estab4 lish not less than 1 community outreach office 

5 under this subsection in the northern New Eng6 land region, which shall serve the States of 

7 Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. 

8 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 

9 location for the office required to be established 

10 under subparagraph (A), the Director shall give 

11 preference to a location in which— 

12 (i) as of the date of enactment of this 

13 Act— 

14 (I) there is located not less than 1 

15 public institution of higher education 

16 and not less than 1 private institution 

17 of higher education; and 

18 (II) there are located not more 

19 than 15 registered patent attorneys, ac20 cording to data from the Office of En21 rollment and Discipline of the Office; 

22 and 

23 (ii) according to data from the 2012 

24 Survey of Business Owners conducted by the 

25 Bureau of the Census, less than 45 percent 


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1 of the firms (as that term is defined for the 

2 purposes of that Survey) are owned by 

3 women, minorities, or veterans. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the community out5 reach offices established under subsection (a) are to— 

6 (1) further achieve the purposes described in sec7 tion 23(b)(1) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act 

8 (35 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended by this Act; 

9 (2) partner with local community organizations, 

10 institutions of higher education, research institutions, 

11 and businesses to create community-based programs 

12 that— 

13 (A) provide education regarding the patent 

14 system; and 

15 (B) promote the career benefits of innova16 tion and entrepreneurship; and 

17 (3) educate prospective inventors, including indi18 vidual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-in19 come populations, students, rural populations, and 

20 any geographic group of innovators that the Director 

21 may determine to be underrepresented in patent fil22 ings, about all public and private resources available 

23 to potential patent applicants, including the patent 

24 pro bono programs. 


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1 SEC. 5. UPDATES TO THE PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) STUDY AND UPDATES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall— 

5 (A) complete a study of the patent pro bono 

6 programs; and 

7 (B) submit the results of the study required 

8 under subparagraph (A) to the Committee on the 

9 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 

10 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 

11 (2) SCOPE OF THE STUDY.—The study required 

12 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

13 (A) assess— 

14 (i) whether the patent pro bono pro15 grams, as in effect on the date on which the 

16 study is commenced, are sufficiently serving 

17 prospective and existing participants; 

18 (ii) whether the patent pro bono pro19 grams are sufficiently funded to serve pro20 spective participants; 

21 (iii) whether any participation re22 quirement of the patent pro bono programs, 

23 including any requirement to demonstrate 

24 knowledge of the patent system, serves as a 

25 deterrent for prospective participants; 


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1 (iv) the degree to which prospective in2 ventors are aware of the patent pro bono 

3 programs; 

4 (v) what factors, if any, deter attorneys 

5 from participating in the patent pro bono 

6 programs; 

7 (vi) whether the patent pro bono pro8 grams would be improved by expanding 

9 those programs to include non-attorney ad10 vocates; and 

11 (vii) any other issue the Director deter12 mines appropriate; and 

13 (B) make recommendations for such admin14 istrative and legislative action as may be appro15 priate. 

16 (b) USE OF RESULTS.—Upon completion of the study 

17 required under subsection (a), the Director shall work with 

18 the Pro Bono Advisory Council, the operators of the patent 

19 pro bono programs, and intellectual property law associa20 tions across the United States to update the patent pro bono 

21 programs in response to the findings of the study. 

22 (c) EXPANSION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall work with 

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1 lectual property law associations across the United 

2 States to expand eligibility for the patent pro bono 

3 programs to an individual living in a household, the 

4 gross household income of which is not more than 400 

5 percent of the Federal poverty line. 

6 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in para7 graph (1) may be construed to prevent a patent pro 

8 bono program from electing to establish a higher eligi9 bility level, as compared to the level described in that 

10 paragraph. 

11 SEC. 6. PRE-PROSECUTION ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish 

14 a pilot program to assist first-time prospective patent ap15 plicants in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a po16 tential patent application submitted by such a prospective 

17 applicant. 

18 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the pilot pro19 gram required under subsection (a), the Director shall es20 tablish— 

21 (1) a notification process to notify a prospective 

22 patent applicant seeking an assessment described in 

23 that subsection that any assessment so provided may 

24 not be considered an official ruling of patentability 

25 from the Office; 


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1 (2) conditions to determine eligibility for the 

2 pilot program, taking into consideration available re3 sources; 

4 (3) reasonable limitations on the amount of time 

5 to be spent providing assistance to each individual 

6 first-time prospective patent applicant; 

7 (4) procedures for referring prospective patent 

8 applicants to legal counsel, including through the pat9 ent pro bono programs; and 

10 (5) procedures to protect the confidentiality of 

11 the information disclosed by prospective patent appli12 cants. 

13 SEC. 7. FEE REDUCTION FOR SMALL AND MICRO ENTITIES. 

14 (a) TITLE 35.—Section 41(h) of title 35, United States 

15 Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘60 percent’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘75 percent’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’. 

20 (b) FALSE CERTIFICATIONS.—Title 35, United States 

21 Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in section 41, by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(j) PENALTY FOR FALSE ASSERTIONS.—In addition 

25 to any other penalty available under law, an entity that 


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1 is found to have falsely asserted entitlement to a fee reduc2 tion under this section shall be subject to a fine, to be deter3 mined by the Director, the amount of which shall be not 

4 less than 3 times the amount that the entity failed to pay 

5 as a result of the false assertion, whether the Director dis6 covers the false assertion before or after the date on which 

7 a patent has been issued.’’; and 

8 (2) in section 123, by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(f) PENALTY FOR FALSE CERTIFICATIONS.—In addi11 tion to any other penalty available under law, an entity 

12 that is found to have falsely made a certification under this 

13 section shall be subject to a fine, to be determined by the 

14 Director, the amount of which shall be not less than 3 times 

15 the amount that the entity failed to pay as a result of the 

16 false certification, whether the Director discovers the false 

17 certification before or after the date on which a patent has 

18 been issued.’’. 

19 (c) LEAHY-SMITH AMERICA INVENTS ACT.—Section 

20 10(b) of the Leahy Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 

21 41 note) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘60 

23 percent’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘75 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘80 

25 percent’’. 


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1 (d) STUDY ON FEES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall— 

4 (A) complete a study of the fees charged by 

5 the Office; and 

6 (B) submit the results of the study required 

7 under subparagraph (A) to the Committee on the 

8 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 

9 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 

10 (2) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The study required under 

11 paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

12 (A) assess whether— 

13 (i) fees for small and micro entities are 

14 inhibiting the filing of patent applications 

15 by those entities; 

16 (ii) fees for examination should ap17 proximately match the costs of examination 

18 and what incentives are created by using 

19 maintenance fees to cover the costs of exam20 ination; and 

21 (iii) the results of the assessments per22 formed under clauses (i) and (ii) counsel in 

23 favor of changes to the fee structure of the 

24 Office, such as— 


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1 (I) raising standard application 

2 and examination fees; 

3 (II) reducing standard mainte4 nance fees; and 

5 (III) reducing the fees for small 

6 and micro entities as a percentage of 

7 standard application fees; and 

8 (B) make recommendations for such admin9 istrative and legislative action as may be appro10 priate. 


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Calendar No. 571 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2773 

A BILL 

To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to 

poses. ent and Trademark Office, and for other puraddress satellite offices of the United States PatDECEMBER 1, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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