Public Law 102–204

$95,000,000 for salaries and necessary expenses, which shall be derived from deposits in the Patent and Trademark Office Fee Surcharge Fund established under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–508);

such sums as are equal to the amount collected during that year from fees under title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051 and following); and

$24,000,000 for administrative, capital, or other expenditures not provided for under paragraphs (1) and (2).

Subsection (a) is amended—

Subsection (b)(l)(B) is amended by inserting “of these surcharges,” after “(B)”.

Subsection (c) is amended—

Section 41(a) of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(a)“(a)

The Commissioner shall charge the following fees:

“(1)“(1)

(A)(A)

On filing each application for an original patent, except in design or plant cases, $500.

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“(B)“(B)

In addition, on filing or on presentation at any other time, $52 for each claim in independent form which is in excess of 3, $14 for each claim (whether independent or dependent) which is in excess of 20, and $160 for each application containing a multiple dependent claim.

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“(2)“(2)

For issuing each original or reissue patent, except in design or plant cases, $820.

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“(3)“(3)

In design and plant cases—

“(A)“(A)

on filing each design application, $200;

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“(B)“(B)

on filing each plant application, $330;

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“(C)“(C)

on issuing each design patent, $290; and

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“(D)“(D)

on issuing each plant patent, $410.

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“(4)“(4)

(A)(A)

On filing each application for the reissue of a patent, $500.

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“(B)“(B)

In addition, on filing or on presentation at any other time, $52 for each claim in independent form which is in excess of the number of independent claims of the original patent, and $14 for each claim (whether independent or dependent) which is in excess of 20 and also in excess of the number of claims of the original patent.

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“(5)“(5)

On filing each disclaimer, $78.

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“(6)“(6)

(A)(A)

On filing an appeal from the examiner to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, $190.

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“(B)“(B)

In addition, on filing a brief in support of the appeal, $190, and on requesting an oral hearing in the appeal before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, $160.

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“(7)“(7)

On filing each petition for the revival of an unintentionally abandoned application for a patent or for the unintentionally delayed payment of the fee for issuing each patent, $820, unless the petition is filed under section 133 or 151 of this title, in which case the fee shall be $78.

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“(8)“(8)

For petitions for 1-month extensions of time to take actions required by the Commissioner in an application—

“(A)“(A)

On filing a first petition, $78;

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“(B)“(B)

on filing a second petition, $172; and

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“(C)“(C)

on filing a third petition or subsequent petition, $340.

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“(9)“(9)

Basic national fee for an international application where the Patent and Trademark Office was the International Preliminary Examining Authority and the International Searching Authority, $450.

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“(10)“(10)

Basic national fee for an international application where the Patent and Trademark Office was the International Searching Authority but not the International Preliminary Examining Authority, $500.

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“(11)“(11)

Basic national fee for an international application where the Patent and Trademark Office was neither the International Searching Authority nor the International Preliminary Examining Authority, $670.

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“(12)“(12)

Basic national fee for an international application where the international preliminary examination has been paid to the Patent and Trademark Office, and the international preliminary examination report states that the provisions of Article 33 (2), (3), and (4) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty have been satisfied for all claims in the application entering the national stage, $66.

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“(13)“(13)

For filing or later presentation of each independent claim in the national stage of an international application in excess of 3, $52.

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“(14)“(14)

For filing or later presentation of each claim (whether independent or dependent) in a national stage of an international application in excess of 20, $14.

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“(15)“(15)

For each national stage of an international application containing a multiple dependent claim, $160.

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For the purpose of computing fees, a multiple dependent claim as referred to in section 112 of this title or any claim depending therefrom shall be considered as separate dependent claims in accordance with the number of claims to which reference is made. Errors in payment of the additional fees may be rectified in accordance with regulations of the Commissioner.”.

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Subsection (b) of section 41 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking “a patent in force” and all that follows through the end of paragraph 3. and inserting the following: “in force all patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980:

“(1)“(1)

3 years and 6 months after grant, $650.

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“(2)“(2)

7 years and 6 months after grant, $1,310.

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“(3)“(3)

11 years and 6 months after grant, $1,980.”.

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Subsection (d) of section 41, of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(d)“(d)

The Commissioner shall establish fees for all other processing, services, or materials relating to patents not specified in this section to recover the estimated average cost to the Office of such processing, services, or materials, except that the Commissioner shall charge the following fees for the following services:

“(1)“(1)

For recording a document affecting title, $40 per property.

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“(2)“(2)

For each photocopy, $.25 per page.

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“(3)“(3)

For each black and white copy of a patent, $3.

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The yearly fee for providing a library specified in section 13 of this title with uncertified printed copies of the specifications and drawings for all patents in that year shall be $50.”.

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Section 41(g) of title 35, United States

Federal Register, publication.

Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(g)“(g)

No fee established by the Commissioner under this section

Effective date.

shall take effect until at least 30 days after notice of the fee has been published in the Federal Register and in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office.”.

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Fees established by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks

35 USC 41 note.

under section 41(d) of title 35, United States Code, during fiscal year 1992 may take effect on or after 1 day after such fees are published in the Federal Register. Section 41(g) of title 35, United States Code, and section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the establishment of such fees during fiscal year 1992.

Section 41 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(i)“(i)

(1)(1)

The Commissioner shall maintain, for use by the public, paper or microform collections of United States patents, foreign patent documents, and United States trademark registrations arranged to permit search for and retrieval of information. The Commissioner may not impose fees directly for the use of such collections, or for the use of the public patent or trademark search rooms or libraries.

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“(2)“(2)

The Commissioner shall provide for the full deployment of the automated search systems of the Patent and Trademark Office so that such systems are available for use by the public, and shall assure full access by the public to, and dissemination of, patent and trademark information, using a variety of automated methods, including electronic bulletin boards and remote access by users to mass storage and retrieval systems.

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“(3)“(3)

The Commissioner may establish reasonable fees for access by the public to the automated search systems of the Patent and Trademark Office. If such fees are established, a limited amount of free access shall be made available to users of the systems for purposes of education and training. The Commissioner may waive the payment by an individual of fees authorized by this subsection upon a showing of need or hardship, and if such a waiver is in the public interest.

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“(4)“(4)

The Commissioner shall submit to the Congress an annual

Reports.

report on the automated search systems of the Patent and Trademark Office and the access by the public to such systems. The Commissioner shall also publish such report in the Federal Register. The Commissioner shall provide an opportunity for the submission of comments by interested persons on each such report.”.

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Section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1113(a)) is amended to read as follows:

“(a)“(a)

The Commissioner shall establish fees for the filing and processing of an application for the registration of a trademark or other mark and for all other services performed by and materials furnished by the Patent and Trademark Office related to trademarks and other marks. Fees established under this subsection may be adjusted by the Commissioner once each year to reflect, in the aggregate, any fluctuations during the preceding 12 months in the Consumer Price Index, as determined by the Secretary of Labor.

Effective date.

Changes of less than 1 percent may be ignored. No fee established

Federal Register, publication.

under this section shall take effect until at least 30 days after notice of the fee has been published in the Federal Register and in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office.”.

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Fees established by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks under section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1113(a)) during fiscal year 1992—

The last sentence of section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 and section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the establishment of such fees during fiscal year 1992.

Section 376 of title 35, United States Code, is amended—

Section 371(c)(1) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking “prescribed under section 376(a)(4) of this part” and inserting “provided in section 41(a) of this title”.

the term “CD-ROMs” means compact discs formatted with read-only memory, including such discs that make use of advanced optical storage technology;

the term “classified patent information” means patent information organized by the subject matter of the claimed invention according to the United States Patent Classification System or the classification system used by the country or authority that issues a patent;

the term “Commissioner” means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks; and

the term “patent information” means a complete and exact facsimile of a patent or patent application, including the text and all images contained therein (such as drawings, diagrams, formulas, and tables).