In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Patent Term Restoration Act of
1997''.

SEC. 2. PATENT TERMS.

(a) Amendment of Title 35.--Effective on the date of the enactment
of this Act, section 154 of title 35, United States Code, as amended by
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2) of subsection (a), by striking ''and
ending'' and all that follows in that paragraph and inserting
''and ending--
''(A) 17 years from the date of the grant of the
patent, or
''(B) 20 years from the date on which the
application for the patent was filed in the United
States, except that if the application contains a
specific reference to an earlier filed application or
applications under section 120, 121, or 365(c) of this
title, 20 years from the date on which the earliest
such patent application was filed,
whichever is later.''.
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ''shall be the
greater of the 20-year term as provided in subsection (a), or
17 years from grant'' and inserting ''shall be the term
provided in subsection (a)''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 534(b) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act is amended by striking paragraph (3).

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES TO PROTECT THE
CONFIDENTIALITY STATUS OF APPLICATIONS.

Section 122 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking
''as may be determined by the Commissioner'' and inserting ''as in any
of the following:
''(1) In the case of an application under section 111(a)
for a patent for an invention for which the applicant intends
to file or has filed an application for a patent in a foreign
country, the Commissioner may publish, at the discretion of the
Commissioner and by means determined suitable for the purpose,
no more than that data from such application under section
111(a) which will be made or has been made public in such
foreign country. Such a publication shall be made only after
the date of the publication in such foreign country.
''(2)(A) If the Commissioner determines that a patent
application which is filed after the date of the enactment of
this paragraph--
''(i) has been pending more than 5 years from the
effective filing date of the application,
''(ii) has not been previously published by the
Patent and Trademark Office,
''(iii) is not under any appellate review by the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences,
''(iv) is not under interference proceedings in
accordance with section 135(a),
''(v) is not under any secrecy order pursuant to
section 181,
''(vi) is not being diligently pursued by the
applicant in accordance with this title, and
''(vii) is not in abandonment,
the Commissioner shall notify the applicant of such
determination.
''(B) An applicant which received notice of a determination
described in subparagraph (A) may, within 30 days of receiving
such notice, petition the Commissioner to review the
determination to verify that subclauses (i) through (vii) are
all applicable to the applicant's application. If the applicant
makes such a petition, the Commissioner shall not publish the
applicant's application before the Commissioner's review of the
petition is completed. If the applicant does not submit a
petition, the Commissioner may publish the applicant's
application no earlier than 90 days after giving such a notice.
''(3) If after the date of the enactment of this paragraph
a continuing application has been filed more than 6 months
after the date of the initial filing of an application, the
Commissioner shall notify the applicant under such application.
The Commissioner shall establish a procedure for an applicant
which receives such a notice to demonstrate that the purpose of
the continuing application was for reasons other than to
achieve a delay in the time of publication of the application.
If the Commissioner agrees with such a demonstration by the
applicant, the Commissioner shall not publish the applicant's
application. If the Commissioner does not agree with such a
demonstration by the applicant or if the applicant does not
make an attempt at such a demonstration within a reasonable
period of time as determined by the Commissioner, the
Commissioner shall publish the applicant's application.
The Commissioner shall ensure that publications under paragraph (1),
(2), or (3) will not result in third-party pre-issuance oppositions
which will delay or interfere with the issuance of the patents whose
applications' data will be published.''.
A:
Patent Term Restoration Act of 1997 - Amends provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that revise Federal patent law to provide that a patent term shall be the later of 17 years from the date the patent is granted or 20 years from the date the application was filed in the United States. Provides that if the application contains a reference to the earlier application, the term shall be 20 years from the date the earliest application was filed.
Requires the term of a patent that is in force or results from an application filed within six months after the Uruguay Round Agreements Act enactment date to be the term provided in this Act.
Revises Federal patent law requirements for confidentiality of patent applications to set out: (1) the special circumstances under which such applications can be made public; or (2) in the case of a patent application for an invention for which the applicant intends to file or has filed for a patent in a foreign country, the limited data which the Commissioner of Patents may disclose. Authorizes an applicant to petition the Commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office to review a determination to publish a patent application. Prohibits the Commissioner from publishing an application prior to the completion of the review.