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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10416 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10416
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to
establish and carry out a pilot program to expedite the examination of
applications for certain patents, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 16, 2024
Mr. Banks (for himself and Ms. Ross) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to
establish and carry out a pilot program to expedite the examination of
applications for certain patents, 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 ``Leadership in Critical and Emerging
Technologies Act'' or the ``Leadership in CET Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR EXPEDITING EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN CRITICAL
AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY PATENT APPLICATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered application.--The term ``covered application''
means an application for patent with respect to an eligible
critical or emerging technology.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the Office.
(3) Eligible critical or emerging technology.--The term
``eligible critical or emerging technology'' means--
(A) artificial intelligence, as defined in section
5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative
Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401);
(B) microelectronics, as defined in section
10731(a) of the Research and Development, Competition,
and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19331(a)); or
(C) quantum information science, as defined in
section 2 of the National Quantum Initiative Act (15
U.S.C. 8801).
(4) Expedite.--The term ``expedite'' means, with respect to
a covered application, to advance that covered application out
of turn through the use of a petition to make special.
(5) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
(6) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the
pilot program established under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a pilot program to
expedite the examination, under section 131 of title 35, United States
Code, of covered applications.
(c) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program shall be to
encourage innovation by, and the leadership of, the United States with
respect to critical or emerging technologies by ensuring that covered
applications receive prompt consideration.
(d) Implementation.--In carrying out the pilot program, the
Director--
(1) shall establish the process by which covered
applications are expedited;
(2) may waive--
(A) the petition fee described in section 1.102(d)
of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulation; or
(B) any other requirement of the Office relating to
the accelerated examination program or the prioritized
examination program; and
(3) may establish reasonable limitations on the number of
covered applications that an applicant may submit for expedited
examination under the pilot program.
(e) Qualifying Applications.--To best achieve the purpose of the
pilot program, the Director shall ensure that a covered application
satisfies the following requirements to qualify for the pilot program:
(1) The applicant submitting the covered application is--
(A) an entity that is incorporated in the United
States; or
(B) an inventor who resides in the United States.
(2) The covered application shall be a noncontinuing,
original, and nonprovisional patent application.
(f) Termination.--
(1) In general.--The pilot program shall terminate on the
earlier of the following:
(A) The date that is 5 years after the date on
which the Director first issues a patent for an
invention claimed in a covered application that is
expedited under the pilot program.
(B) The date on which the Director has accepted
[10,000] covered applications for participation in the
pilot program, without regard to whether those covered
applications have been expedited under the pilot
program.
(2) Renewal.--If the pilot program terminates under
paragraph (1)(B), the Director may renew the pilot program for
the shorter of the following:
(A) An additional 5-year period.
(B) An additional period--
(i) beginning on the date on which the
pilot program terminates under paragraph
(1)(B); and
(ii) ending on the date on which the
Director has accepted an additional [10,000]
covered applications for participation in the
pilot program, without regard to whether those
covered applications have been expedited under
the pilot program.
(3) Notice of renewal.--The Director shall notify Congress
of the intent of the Director to renew the pilot program under
paragraph (2) not later than the date that is the earlier of
the following:
(A) The date that is 60 days before the date
described in paragraph (1)(A).
(B) The date that is 30 days after the date on
which the Director has accepted [8,000] covered
applications for participation in the pilot program,
without regard to whether those covered applications
have been expedited under the pilot program.
(g) Public Availability of Information.--The Director shall make
publicly available in an easily accessible location on the website of
the Office information about the pilot program, including--
(1) the number of covered applications received by the
Director for participation in the pilot program;
(2) the number of covered applications described in
paragraph (1) that the Director has accepted for participation
in the pilot program; and
(3) the number of patents that have been issued for
inventions claimed in covered applications expedited under the
pilot program.
(h) Report to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the pilot program terminates (including any renewal of
the pilot program under subsection (f)(2)), the Director shall
submit to Congress a report that assesses the impact and
effectiveness of the pilot program based on all available data.
(2) Applicability.--The collection of any data for the
purposes of carrying out paragraph (1) shall be exempt from
subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'').
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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