I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2231
To amend title 35, United States Code, with respect to patent reexamination
proceedings.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 19, 2001
Ms. LOFGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 35, United States Code, with respect to
patent reexamination proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Patent Reexamination
Enhancement Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. REQUESTS FOR INTER PARTES REEXAMINATION.
(a) SCOPE OF REEXAMINATION AUTHORITY.—Sec-
tion 311 of title 35, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(a) REQUESTS FOR REEXAMINATION.—
‘‘(1) AT ANY TIME.—Any person may at any
time file a request for inter partes reexamination by
the Office of a patent on the basis of any prior art
cited under the provisions of section 301.
‘‘(2) WITHIN LIMITED PERIOD AFTER ISSUE OF
A PATENT.—Any person, within 12 months after the
date on which a patent is issued, may file a request
for an inter partes reexamination by the Office of
the patent on the basis of evidence of subject matter
described in section 102(a) or (b), alone or in com-
bination with prior art that may be cited under sec-
tion 301, or on the basis of evidence showing that
one or more claims of the patent do not comply with
the first or second paragraph of section 112 (other
than the best mode requirement).’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking ‘‘The request’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Any request under subsection (a)’’;
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(C) in paragraph (2)—
(i) by inserting after ‘‘(2)’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘in the case of a request made
under subsection (a)(1),’’; and
vorable to the patentability of any original or pro-
posed amended or new claim of the patent’’; and
(2) in the second sentence—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or information’’ after
‘‘prior art’’; and
(B) by inserting after ‘‘Patent and Trade-
mark Office’’ the following: ‘‘, or upon evidence
and reasons set forth in section 311(a)(2) and
311(b)(3), respectively, which were not known
to the third party requester,’’.
(d) REPEAL.—Section 4607 of the Intellectual Prop-
erty and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999,
as enacted by section 1000(a)(9) of Public Law 106–113,
is repealed.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c),
the amendments made by this Act shall apply to any pat-
ent in force on the date of the enactment of this Act, and
to any patent issued on or after such date.
(b) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any patent cov-
ered by subsection (a) which was issued before the date
of the enactment of this Act and with respect to which
the 12-month period provided in section 311(a)(2) of title
35, United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act,
has expired as of such date of enactment, a request for
inter partes reexamination under such section 311(a)(2)
shall be valid if it is filed not later than 6 months after
such date of enactment.
(c) APPLICABILITY OF APPEAL PROVISIONS.—The
amendments made by section 2(c) and the repeal made
by section 2(d) shall apply only to inter partes reexamina-
tion proceedings for which a request under section 311
of title 35, United States Code, is made on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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