II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2146 

To establish a United States Patent and Trademark Office Innovation 

Promotion Fund, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2014 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. COBURN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. FLAKE) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a United States Patent and Trademark Office 

Innovation Promotion Fund, 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 ‘‘Patent Fee Integrity 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE FUNDING. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

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

9 the Director of the United States Patent and Trade10 mark Office. 


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1 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

2 United States Patent and Trademark Office Innova3 tion Promotion Fund established under subsection 

4 (c). 

5 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

6 United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

7 (4) TRADEMARK ACT OF 1946.—The term 

8 ‘‘Trademark Act of 1946’’ means the Act entitled 

9 ‘‘An Act to provide for the registration and protec10 tion of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out 

11 the provisions of certain international conventions, 

12 and for other purposes’’, approved July 5, 1946 (15 

13 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) (commonly referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Trademark Act of 1946’’ or the ‘‘Lanham Act’’). 

15 (b) FUNDING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 42 of title 35, 

17 United States Code, is amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Patent 

19 and Trademark Office Appropriation Account’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘United States Patent and 

21 Trademark Office Innovation Promotion 

22 Fund’’; and 

23 (B) in subsection (c), 

24 (i) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘To the extent’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘fees’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Fees’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘shall be col5 lected by and shall, subject to para6 graph (3), be available to the Direc7 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be collected 

8 by the Director and shall be available 

9 to the Director until expended’’; 

10 (ii) by striking paragraph (2); and 

11 (iii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

12 paragraph (2). 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

14 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the first day 

15 of the first fiscal year that begins on or after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (c) USPTO REVOLVING FUND.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

19 the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund 

20 to be known as the ‘‘United States Patent and 

21 Trademark Office Innovation Promotion Fund’’. 

22 Any amounts in the Fund shall be available for use 

23 by the Director without fiscal year limitation. 

24 (2) DERIVATION OF RESOURCES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be depos2 ited into the Fund on or after the effective date 

3 described in subsection (b)(2)— 

4 (i) any fees collected under title 35, 

5 United States Code; and 

6 (ii) any fees collected under the 

7 Trademark Act of 1946. 

8 (B) REMAINING BALANCES.—There shall 

9 be deposited in the Fund, on the effective date 

10 described in subsection (b)(2), any available un11 obligated balances remaining in the Patent and 

12 Trademark Office Appropriation Account, and 

13 in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve 

14 Fund established under section 42(b)(2) of title 

15 31, United States Code, as in effect on the date 

16 before the effective date. Upon the payment of 

17 all obligated amounts in the Patent and Trade18 mark Fee Reserve Fund, the Patent and Trade19 mark Fee Reserve Fund shall be terminated. 

20 (3) EXPENSES.—Amounts deposited into the 

21 Fund under paragraph (2) shall be available, with22 out fiscal year limitation, to cover— 

23 (A) all expenses to the extent consistent 

24 with the limitation on the use of fees set forth 

25 in section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, 


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1 including all administrative and operating ex2 penses, determined in the discretion of the Di3 rector to be ordinary and reasonable, incurred 

4 by the Director for the continued operation of 

5 all services, programs, activities, and duties of 

6 the Office relating to patents and trademarks, 

7 as such services, programs, activities, and du8 ties are described under— 

9 (i) title 35, United States Code; and 

10 (ii) the Trademark Act of 1946; and 

11 (B) all expenses incurred pursuant to any 

12 obligation, representation, or other commitment 

13 of the Office. 

14 (d) ANNUAL REPORT AND OPERATION PLAN.—Not 

15 later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, the 

16 Director shall submit to Congress a report that— 

17 (1) summarizes the operations of the Office for 

18 the preceding fiscal year, including financial details 

19 and staff levels broken down by each major activity 

20 of the Office; 

21 (2) describes the long-term modernization plans 

22 of the Office; 

23 (3) sets forth details of any progress towards 

24 such modernization plans made in the preceding fis25 cal year; and 


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1 (4) includes the results of the most recent audit 

2 carried out under subsection (f). 

3 (e) ANNUAL SPENDING PLAN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

5 the beginning of each fiscal year, the Director shall 

6 notify the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen7 ate and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 House of Representatives of the plan for the obliga9 tion and expenditure by the Office of the total 

10 amount of the funds for that fiscal year in accord11 ance with section 605 of the Science, State, Justice, 

12 Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations 

13 Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–108; 119 Stat. 2334). 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—Each plan under paragraph 

15 (1) shall— 

16 (A) summarize the operations of the Office 

17 for the current and next fiscal year, including 

18 financial details and staff levels with respect to 

19 major activities; and 

20 (B) detail the operating plan of the Office, 

21 including specific expense and staff needs, for 

22 the current and next fiscal year. 

23 (f) AUDIT.—The Director shall, on an annual basis, 

24 provide for an independent audit of the financial stateVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:54 Mar 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2146.IS S2146

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1 ments of the Office. Such audit shall be conducted in ac2 cordance with generally accepted accounting principles. 

3 (g) BUDGET.—The Fund shall prepare and submit 

4 each year to the President a business-type budget in such 

5 manner, and before such date, as the President prescribes 

6 by regulation. 

Æ 


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