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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2047 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2047

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 2001

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
To authorize appropriations for the United States Patent and Trademark 
          Office for fiscal year 2002, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Patent and Trademark Office 
Authorization Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF AMOUNTS AVAILABLE TO THE PATENT AND TRADEMARK 
              OFFICE.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the United States Patent 
and Trademark Office for salaries and necessary expenses for fiscal 
year 2002 an amount equal to the fees collected in fiscal year 2002 
under title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 
U.S.C. 1051 et seq.).

SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC FILING AND PROCESSING OF PATENT AND TRADEMARK 
              APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Electronic Filing and Processing.--The Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office (in this Act referred to as the 
``Director'') shall, during the 3-year period beginning October 1, 
2001, develop an electronic system for the filing and processing of 
patent and trademark applications, that--
            (1) is user friendly; and
            (2) includes the necessary infrastructure--
                    (A) to allow examiners and applicants to send all 
                communications electronically; and
                    (B) to allow the Office to process, maintain, and 
                search electronically the contents and history of each 
                application.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Of amounts authorized under 
section 2, there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
subsection (a) of this section not more than $50,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2002. Amounts made available pursuant to this subsection shall 
remain available until expended.

SEC. 4. STRATEGIC PLAN.

    (a) Development of Plan.--The Director shall, in close consultation 
with the Patent Public Advisory Committee and the Trademark Public 
Advisory Committee, develop a strategic plan that sets forth the goals 
and methods by which the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
will, during the 5-year period beginning on October 1, 2002--
            (1) enhance patent and trademark quality;
            (2) reduce patent and trademark pendency; and
            (3) develop and implement an effective electronic system 
        for use by the Patent and Trademark Office and the public for 
        all aspects of the patent and trademark processes, including, 
        in addition to the elements set forth in section 3, searching, 
        examining, communicating, publishing, and making publicly 
        available, patents and trademark registrations.
The strategic plan shall include milestones and objective and 
meaningful criteria for evaluating the progress and successful 
achievement of the plan. The Director shall consult with the Public 
Advisory Committees with respect to the development of each aspect of 
the strategic plan.
    (b) Report to Congressional Committees.--The Director shall, not 
later than January 15, 2002, or 4 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, whichever is later, submit the plan developed 
under subsection (a) to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on October 1, 2001.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 6, 2001.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.
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