(b) REFERENCE TO TRADEMARK ACT OF 1946.—For 
purposes of this section, the ‘‘Trademark Act of 1946’’ 
refers to the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the reg-
istration and protection of trademarks used in commerce, 
to carry out the provisions of certain international conven-
tions, and for other purposes.’’, approved July 5, 1946 (15 
U.S.C. 1051 et seq.). 
SEC. 4. CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS NAMING OF OFFICER. 
(a) CORRECTION.—Section 13203(a) of the 21st Cen-
tury Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization 
Act (Public Law 107–273; 116 Stat. 1902) is amended— 
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘COMMISSIONER’’ and inserting ‘‘DIRECTOR’’; and 
(2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 
‘‘Commissioner’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘Director’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall be effective as of the date of the enact-
ment of Public Law 107–273. 
SEC. 5. PATENT AND TRADEMARK FUNDING. 
Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)(1)’’; 
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) There is established in the Treasury a Patent 
and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund. If fee collections by 
the Patent and Trademark Office for a fiscal year exceed 
the amount appropriated to the Office for that fiscal year, 
fees collected in excess of the appropriated amount shall 
be deposited in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve 
Fund. After the end of each fiscal year, the Director shall 
make a finding as to whether the fees collected for that 
fiscal year exceed the amount appropriated to the Patent 
and Trademark Office for that fiscal year. If the amount 
collected exceeds the amount appropriated, the Director 
shall, if the Director determines that there are sufficient 
funds in the Reserve Fund, make payments from the Re-
serve Fund to persons who paid patent or trademark fees 
during that fiscal year. The Director shall by regulation 
determine which persons receive such payments and the 
amount of such payments, except that such payments in 
the aggregate shall equal the amount of funds deposited 
in the Reserve Fund during that fiscal year, less the cost 
of administering the provisions of this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF PATENT AND TRADEMARK FEE PROVI-
SIONS OF THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIA-
TIONS ACT, 2005. 
Title VIII of division B of the Consolidated Appro-
priations Act, 2005 (35 U.S.C. 41 note; Public Law 108– 
447; 118 Stat. 2924) is repealed. 
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE, APPLICABILITY, AND TRANSI-
TIONAL PROVISION. 
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise provided 
in this Act and this section, this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act shall take effect as of December 8, 2004. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.— 
(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs 
(B) and (C), the amendments made by section 2 
shall apply to all patents, whenever granted, and to 
all patent applications pending on or filed after the 
effective date set forth in subsection (a) of this sec-
tion. 
(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), sections 
41(a)(1), 41(a)(3), and 41(d)(1) of title 35, United 
States Code, as amended by this Act, shall apply 
only to— 
(I) applications for patents filed under sec-
tion 111(a) of title 35, United States Code, on 
or after the effective date set forth in sub-
section (a) of this section, and
(II) international applications entering the 
national stage under section 371 of title 35, 
United States Code, for which the basic na-
tional fee specified in section 41 of title 35, 
United States Code, was not paid before the ef-
fective date set forth in subsection (a) of this 
section. 
(ii) Section 41(a)(1)(D) of title 35, United 
States Code as amended by this Act, shall apply only 
to applications for patent filed under section 111(b) 
of title 35, United States Code, before, on, or after 
the effective date set forth in subsection (a) of this 
section in which the filing fee specified in section 41 
of title 35, United States Code, was not paid before 
the effective date set forth in subsection (a) of this 
section. 
(C) Section 41(a)(2) of title 35, United States 
Code, as amended by this Act, shall apply only to 
the extent that the number of excess claims, after 
giving effect to any cancellation of claims, is in ex-
cess of the number of claims for which the excess 
claims fee specified in section 41 of title 35, United 
States Code, was paid before the effective date set 
forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The amendments made by section 3 shall 
apply to all applications for the registration of a 
trademark filed or amended on or after the effective 
date set forth in subsection (a) of this section. 
(c) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 
(1) SEARCH FEES.—During the period begin-
ning on the effective date set forth in subsection (a) 
of this section and ending on the date on which the 
Director establishes search fees under the authority 
provided in section 41(d)(1) of title 35, United 
States Code, the Director shall charge— 
(A) for the search of each application for 
an original patent, except for design, plant, pro-
visional, or international application, $500; 
(B) for the search of each application for 
an original design patent, $100; 
(C) for the search of each application for 
an original plant patent, $300; 
(D) for the search of the national stage of 
each international application, $500; and 
(E) for the search of each application for 
the reissue of a patent, $500. 
(2) TIMING OF FEES.—The provisions of sec-
tion 111(a)(3) of title 35, United States Code, relat-
ing to the payment of the fee for filing the applica-
tion shall apply to the payment of the fee specified 
in paragraph (1) with respect to an application filed 
under section 111(a) of title 35, United States Code. 
The provisions of section 371(d) of title 35, United 
States Code, relating to the payment of the national 
fee shall apply to the payment of the fee specified 
in paragraph (1) with respect to an international ap-
plication. 
(3) REFUNDS.—The Director may by regula-
tion provide for a refund of any part of the fee spec-
ified in paragraph (1) for any applicant who files a 
written declaration of express abandonment as pre-
scribed by the Director before an examination has 
been made of the application under section 131 of 
title 35, United States Code, and for any applicant 
who provides a search report that meets the condi-
tions prescribed by the Director. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITION. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Di-
rector of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 
SEC. 9. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 
Subsection (c) of section 311 of title 35, United 
States Code, is amended by aligning the text with the text 
of subsection (a) of such section.
Union Calendar No. 203 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2791 
[Report No. 109–372] 
A BILL 
To amend title 35, United States Code, with 
respect to patent fees, and for other purposes. 
FEBRUARY 8, 2006 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed