CHAPTER 1 - ESTABLISHMENT, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, FUNCTIONS
Title 35 > CHAPTER 1
Sections (24)
§ 1 Establishment
(a) Establishment.— The United States Patent and Trademark Office is established as an agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce. In carrying out its functions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce, but otherwise shall retain responsibility for decisions regarding the management and administration of its operations and shall exercise independent control of its budget allocations and expenditures, personnel decisions and processes, procurements, and other administrative and management functions in accordance with this title and applicable provisions of law. Those operations designed to grant and issue patents and those operations which are designed to facilitate the registration of trademarks shall be treated as separate operating units within the Office.
(b) Offices.— The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall maintain its principal office in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, for the service of process and papers and for the purpose of carrying out its functions. The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be deemed, for purposes of venue in civil actions, to be a resident of the district in which its principal office is located, except where jurisdiction is otherwise provided by law. The United States Patent and Trademark Office may establish satellite offices in such other places in the United States as it considers necessary and appropriate in the conduct of its business.
(c) Reference.— For purposes of this title, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall also be referred to as the “Office” and the “Patent and Trademark Office”.
“SEC. 4741 REFERENCES.
(“(a) In General.— Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of or pertaining to a department or office from which a function is transferred by this subtitle [see Tables for classification]— to the head of such department or office is deemed to refer to the head of the department or office to which such function is transferred; or to such department or office is deemed to refer to the department or office to which such function is transferred.
(“(b) Specific References.— Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of or pertaining to the Patent and Trademark Office— to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks is deemed to refer to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; to the Assistant Commissioner for Patents is deemed to refer to the Commissioner for Patents; or to the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks is deemed to refer to the Commissioner for Trademarks.
“SEC. 4742 EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.
“Except as otherwise provided by law, a Federal official to whom a function is transferred by this subtitle may, for purposes of performing the function, exercise all authorities under any other provision of law that were available with respect to the performance of that function to the official responsible for the performance of the function immediately before the effective date of the transfer of the function under this subtitle.
“SEC. 4743 SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(“(a) Legal Documents.— All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agreements, certificates, licenses, and privileges— that have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to become effective by the President, the Secretary of Commerce, any officer or employee of any office transferred by this subtitle, or any other Government official, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the performance of any function that is transferred by this subtitle; and that are in effect on the effective date of such transfer (or become effective after such date pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective date), shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the President, any other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation of law.
(“(b) Proceedings.— This subtitle shall not affect any proceedings or any application for any benefits, service, license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending on the effective date of this subtitle [see Effective Date of 1999 Amendment note above] before an office transferred by this subtitle, but such proceedings and applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this subtitle had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceeding shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this subtitle had not been enacted.
(“(c) Suits.— This subtitle shall not affect suits commenced before the effective date of this subtitle, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as if this subtitle had not been enacted.
(“(d) Nonabatement of Actions.— No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by or against the Department of Commerce or the Secretary of Commerce, or by or against any individual in the official capacity of such individual as an officer or employee of an office transferred by this subtitle, shall abate by reason of the enactment of this subtitle.
(“(e) Continuance of Suits.— If any Government officer in the official capacity of such officer is party to a suit with respect to a function of the officer, and under this subtitle such function is transferred to any other officer or office, then such suit shall be continued with the other officer or the head of such other office, as applicable, substituted or added as a party.
(“(f) Administrative Procedure and Judicial Review.— Except as otherwise provided by this subtitle, any statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that apply to any function transferred by this subtitle shall apply to the exercise of such function by the head of the Federal agency, and other officers of the agency, to which such function is transferred by this subtitle.
“SEC. 4744 TRANSFER OF ASSETS.
“Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, so much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with a function transferred to an official or agency by this subtitle shall be available to the official or the head of that agency, respectively, at such time or times as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget directs for use in connection with the functions transferred.
“SEC. 4745 DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.
“Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by law or otherwise provided in this subtitle, an official to whom functions are transferred under this subtitle (including the head of any office to which functions are transferred under this subtitle) may delegate any of the functions so transferred to such officers and employees of the office of the official as the official may designate, and may authorize successive redelegations of such functions as may be necessary or appropriate. No delegation of functions under this section or under any other provision of this subtitle shall relieve the official to whom a function is transferred under this subtitle of responsibility for the administration of the function.
“SEC. 4746 AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET WITH RESPECT TO FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED.
(“(a) Determinations.— If necessary, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make any determination of the functions that are transferred under this subtitle.
(“(b) Incidental Transfers.— The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, at such time or times as the Director shall provide, may make such determinations as may be necessary with regard to the functions transferred by this subtitle, and to make such additional incidental dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be made available in connection with such functions, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subtitle. The Director shall provide for the termination of the affairs of all entities terminated by this subtitle and for such further measures and dispositions as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subtitle.
“SEC. 4747 CERTAIN VESTING OF FUNCTIONS CONSIDERED TRANSFERS.
“For purposes of this subtitle, the vesting of a function in a department or office pursuant to reestablishment of an office shall be considered to be the transfer of the function.
“SEC. 4748 AVAILABILITY OF EXISTING FUNDS.
“Existing appropriations and funds available for the performance of functions, programs, and activities terminated pursuant to this subtitle shall remain available, for the duration of their period of availability, for necessary expenses in connection with the termination and resolution of such functions, programs, and activities, subject to the submission of a plan to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 605 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, as contained in Public Law 105–277 [ 112 Stat. 2681–111 ].
“SEC. 4749 DEFINITIONS.
“For purposes of this subtitle— the term ‘function’ includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program; and the term ‘office’ includes any office, administration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof.”
§ 2 Powers and duties
(a) In General.— The United States Patent and Trademark Office, subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce— shall be responsible for the granting and issuing of patents and the registration of trademarks; and shall be responsible for disseminating to the public information with respect to patents and trademarks.
(b) Specific Powers.— The Office— shall adopt and use a seal of the Office, which shall be judicially noticed and with which letters patent, certificates of trademark registrations, and papers issued by the Office shall be authenticated; may establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, which— shall govern the conduct of proceedings in the Office; shall be made in accordance with section 553 of title 5 ; shall facilitate and expedite the processing of patent applications, particularly those which can be filed, stored, processed, searched, and retrieved electronically, subject to the provisions of section 122 relating to the confidential status of applications; may govern the recognition and conduct of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants or other parties before the Office, and may require them, before being recognized as representatives of applicants or other persons, to show that they are of good moral character and reputation and are possessed of the necessary qualifications to render to applicants or other persons valuable service, advice, and assistance in the presentation or prosecution of their applications or other business before the Office; shall recognize the public interest in continuing to safeguard broad access to the United States patent system through the reduced fee structure for small entities under section 41(h)(1); provide for the development of a performance-based process that includes quantitative and qualitative measures and standards for evaluating cost-effectiveness and is consistent with the principles of impartiality and competitiveness; and may, subject to any conditions prescribed by the Director and at the request of the patent applicant, provide for prioritization of examination of applications for products, processes, or technologies that are important to the national economy or national competitiveness without recovering the aggregate extra cost of providing such prioritization, notwithstanding section 41 or any other provision of law; may acquire, construct, purchase, lease, hold, manage, operate, improve, alter, and renovate any real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest therein, as it considers necessary to carry out its functions; may make such purchases, contracts for the construction, maintenance, or management and operation of facilities, and contracts for supplies or services, without regard to the provisions of subtitle I and chapter 33 of title 40, division C (except sections 3302, 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); and may enter into and perform such purchases and contracts for printing services, including the process of composition, platemaking, presswork, silk screen processes, binding, microform, and the products of such processes, as it considers necessary to carry out the functions of the Office, without regard to sections 501 through 517 and 1101 through 1123 of title 44; may use, with their consent, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, on a reimbursable basis, and cooperate with such other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities in the establishment and use of services, equipment, and facilities of the Office; may, when the Director determines that it is practicable, efficient, and cost-effective to do so, use, with the consent of the United States and the agency, instrumentality, Patent and Trademark Office, or international organization concerned, the services, records, facilities, or personnel of any State or local government agency or instrumentality or foreign patent and trademark office or international organization to perform functions on its behalf; may retain and use all of its revenues and receipts, including revenues from the sale, lease, or disposal of any real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest therein, of the Office; shall advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on national and certain international intellectual property policy issues; shall advise Federal departments and agencies on matters of intellectual property policy in the United States and intellectual property protection in other countries; shall provide guidance, as appropriate, with respect to proposals by agencies to assist foreign governments and international intergovernmental organizations on matters of intellectual property protection; may conduct programs, studies, or exchanges of items or services regarding domestic and international intellectual property law and the effectiveness of intellectual property protection domestically and throughout the world, and the Office is authorized to expend funds to cover the subsistence expenses and travel-related expenses, including per diem, lodging costs, and transportation costs, of persons attending such programs who are not Federal employees; shall advise the Secretary of Commerce on programs and studies relating to intellectual property policy that are conducted, or authorized to be conducted, cooperatively with foreign intellectual property offices and international intergovernmental organizations; and may conduct programs and studies described in subparagraph (A); and in coordination with the Department of State, may conduct programs and studies cooperatively with foreign intellectual property offices and international intergovernmental organizations; and with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, may authorize the transfer of not to exceed $100,000 in any year to the Department of State for the purpose of making special payments to international intergovernmental organizations for studies and programs for advancing international cooperation concerning patents, trademarks, and other matters.
(c) Clarification of Specific Powers.— The special payments under subsection (b)(13)(B) shall be in addition to any other payments or contributions to international organizations described in subsection (b)(13)(B) and shall not be subject to any limitations imposed by law on the amounts of such other payments or contributions by the United States Government. Nothing in subsection (b) shall derogate from the duties of the Secretary of State or from the duties of the United States Trade Representative as set forth in section 141 of the Trade Act of 1974 ( 19 U.S.C. 2171 ). Nothing in subsection (b) shall derogate from the duties and functions of the Register of Copyrights or otherwise alter current authorities relating to copyright matters. In exercising the Director’s powers under paragraphs (3) and (4)(A) of subsection (b), the Director shall consult with the Administrator of General Services. In exercising the Director’s powers and duties under this section, the Director shall consult with the Register of Copyrights on all copyright and related matters.
(d) Construction.— Nothing in this section shall be construed to nullify, void, cancel, or interrupt any pending request-for-proposal let or contract issued by the General Services Administration for the specific purpose of relocating or leasing space to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
§ 3 Officers and employees
(a) Under Secretary and Director.— The powers and duties of the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be vested in an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (in this title referred to as the “Director”), who shall be a citizen of the United States and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall be a person who has a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law. The Director shall be responsible for providing policy direction and management supervision for the Office and for the issuance of patents and the registration of trademarks. The Director shall perform these duties in a fair, impartial, and equitable manner. The Director shall consult with the Patent Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the patent operations of the Office, shall consult with the Trademark Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the trademark operations of the Office, and shall consult with the respective Public Advisory Committee before submitting budgetary proposals to the Office of Management and Budget or changing or proposing to change patent or trademark user fees or patent or trademark regulations which are subject to the requirement to provide notice and opportunity for public comment under section 553 of title 5 , as the case may be. The Director shall, before taking office, take an oath to discharge faithfully the duties of the Office. The Director may be removed from office by the President. The President shall provide notification of any such removal to both Houses of Congress.
(b) Officers and Employees of the Office.— The Secretary of Commerce, upon nomination by the Director, shall appoint a Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office who shall be vested with the authority to act in the capacity of the Director in the event of the absence or incapacity of the Director. The Deputy Director shall be a citizen of the United States who has a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law. The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint a Commissioner for Patents and a Commissioner for Trademarks, without regard to chapter 33, 51, or 53 of title 5. The Commissioner for Patents shall be a citizen of the United States with demonstrated management ability and professional background and experience in patent law and serve for a term of 5 years. The Commissioner for Trademarks shall be a citizen of the United States with demonstrated management ability and professional background and experience in trademark law and serve for a term of 5 years. The Commissioner for Patents and the Commissioner for Trademarks shall serve as the chief operating officers for the operations of the Office relating to patents and trademarks, respectively, and shall be responsible for the management and direction of all aspects of the activities of the Office that affect the administration of patent and trademark operations, respectively. The Secretary may reappoint a Commissioner to subsequent terms of 5 years as long as the performance of the Commissioner as set forth in the performance agreement in subparagraph (B) is satisfactory. The Commissioners shall be paid an annual rate of basic pay not to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior Executive Service established under section 5382 of title 5 , including any applicable locality-based comparability payment that may be authorized under section 5304(h)(2)(C) of title 5 . The compensation of the Commissioners shall be considered, for purposes of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18 , to be the equivalent of that described under clause (ii) of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18 . In addition, the Commissioners may receive a bonus in an amount of up to, but not in excess of, 50 percent of the Commissioners’ annual rate of basic pay, based upon an evaluation by the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director, of the Commissioners’ performance as defined in an annual performance agreement between the Commissioners and the Secretary. The annual performance agreements shall incorporate measurable organization and individual goals in key operational areas as delineated in an annual performance plan agreed to by the Commissioners and the Secretary. Payment of a bonus under this subparagraph may be made to the Commissioners only to the extent that such payment does not cause the Commissioners’ total aggregate compensation in a calendar year to equal or exceed the amount of the salary of the Vice President under section 104 of title 3 . The Commissioners may be removed from office by the Secretary for misconduct or nonsatisfactory performance under the performance agreement described in subparagraph (B), without regard to the provisions of title 5. The Secretary shall provide notification of any such removal to both Houses of Congress. The Director shall— appoint such officers, employees (including attorneys), and agents of the Office as the Director considers necessary to carry out the functions of the Office; and define the title, authority, and duties of such officers and employees and delegate to them such of the powers vested in the Office as the Director may determine. The Office shall not be subject to any administratively or statutorily imposed limitation on positions or personnel, and no positions or personnel of the Office shall be taken into account for purposes of applying any such limitation. The Office shall submit to the Congress a proposal to provide an incentive program to retain as employees patent and trademark examiners of the primary examiner grade or higher who are eligible for retirement, for the sole purpose of training patent and trademark examiners. The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall maintain a program for identifying national security positions and providing for appropriate security clearances, in order to maintain the secrecy of certain inventions, as described in section 181, and to prevent disclosure of sensitive and strategic information in the interest of national security. The Director may fix the rate of basic pay for the administrative patent judges appointed pursuant to section 6 and the administrative trademark judges appointed pursuant to section 17 of the Trademark Act of 1946 ( 15 U.S.C. 1067 ) at not greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5 . The payment of a rate of basic pay under this paragraph shall not be subject to the pay limitation under section 5306(e) or 5373 of title 5.
(c) Continued Applicability of Title 5.— Officers and employees of the Office shall be subject to the provisions of title 5, relating to Federal employees.
(d) Adoption of Existing Labor Agreements.— The Office shall adopt all labor agreements which are in effect, as of the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, with respect to such Office (as then in effect).
(e) Carryover of Personnel.— Effective as of the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, all officers and employees of the Patent and Trademark Office on the day before such effective date shall become officers and employees of the Office, without a break in service. Any individual who, on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, is an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce (other than an officer or employee under paragraph (1)) shall be transferred to the Office, as necessary to carry out the purposes of that Act, if— such individual serves in a position for which a major function is the performance of work reimbursed by the Patent and Trademark Office, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce; such individual serves in a position that performed work in support of the Patent and Trademark Office during at least half of the incumbent’s work time, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce; or such transfer would be in the interest of the Office, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Director. Any transfer under this paragraph shall be effective as of the same effective date as referred to in paragraph (1), and shall be made without a break in service.
(f) Transition Provisions.— On or after the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, the President shall appoint an individual to serve as the Director until the date on which a Director qualifies under subsection (a). The President shall not make more than one such appointment under this subsection. The individual serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Patents on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act may serve as the Commissioner for Patents until the date on which a Commissioner for Patents is appointed under subsection (b). The individual serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act may serve as the Commissioner for Trademarks until the date on which a Commissioner for Trademarks is appointed under subsection (b).
“The amendments made by this section [amending sections 1 and 7 of this title] shall not affect— any position of examiner-in-chief or designated examiner-in-chief existing immediately prior to the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1959 Amendment note set out above], or any incumbent of any such position, his appointment thereto, his rate of compensation, or his right to receive such compensation, until appropriate action is taken under authority of such amendments.”
§ 4 Restrictions on officers and employees as to interest in patents
Officers and employees of the Patent and Trademark Office shall be incapable, during the period of their appointments and for one year thereafter, of applying for a patent and of acquiring, directly or indirectly, except by inheritance or bequest, any patent or any right or interest in any patent, issued or to be issued by the Office. In patents applied for thereafter they shall not be entitled to any priority date earlier than one year after the termination of their appointment. ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 793 ; Pub. L. 93–596, § 1 , Jan. 2, 1975 , 88 Stat. 1949 .)
§ 5 Patent and Trademark Office Public Advisory Committees
(a) Establishment of Public Advisory Committees.— The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall have a Patent Public Advisory Committee and a Trademark Public Advisory Committee, each of which shall have nine voting members who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Commerce. In each year, 3 members shall be appointed to each Advisory Committee for 3-year terms that shall begin on December 1 of that year. Any vacancy on an Advisory Committee shall be filled within 90 days after it occurs. A new member who is appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of the predecessor’s term. The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director, shall designate a Chair and Vice Chair of each Advisory Committee from among the members appointed under paragraph (1). If the Chair resigns before the completion of his or her term, or is otherwise unable to exercise the functions of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall exercise the functions of the Chair.
(b) Basis for Appointments.— Members of each Advisory Committee— shall be citizens of the United States who shall be chosen so as to represent the interests of diverse users of the United States Patent and Trademark Office with respect to patents, in the case of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and with respect to trademarks, in the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee; shall include members who represent small and large entity applicants located in the United States in proportion to the number of applications filed by such applicants, but in no case shall members who represent small entity patent applicants, including small business concerns, independent inventors, and nonprofit organizations, constitute less than 25 percent of the members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and such members shall include at least one independent inventor; and shall include individuals with substantial background and achievement in finance, management, labor relations, science, technology, and office automation. In addition to the voting members, each Advisory Committee shall include a representative of each labor organization recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Such representatives shall be nonvoting members of the Advisory Committee to which they are appointed.
(c) Meetings.— Each Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the chair to consider an agenda set by the chair.
(d) Duties.— Each Advisory Committee shall— review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office with respect to patents, in the case of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and with respect to Trademarks, in the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, and advise the Director on these matters; within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year— prepare an annual report on the matters referred to in paragraph (1); transmit the report to the Secretary of Commerce, the President, and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives; and publish the report in the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
(e) Compensation.— Each member of each Advisory Committee shall be compensated for each day (including travel time) during which such member is attending meetings or conferences of that Advisory Committee or otherwise engaged in the business of that Advisory Committee, at the rate which is the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5 . While away from such member’s home or regular place of business such member shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5 .
(f) Access to Information.— Members of each Advisory Committee shall be provided access to records and information in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, except for personnel or other privileged information and information concerning patent applications required to be kept in confidence by section 122.
(g) Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws.— Members of each Advisory Committee shall be special Government employees within the meaning of section 202 of title 18 .
(h) Inapplicability of Chapter 10 of Title 5.— Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to each Advisory Committee.
(i) Open Meetings.— The meetings of each Advisory Committee shall be open to the public, except that each Advisory Committee may by majority vote meet in executive session when considering personnel, privileged, or other confidential information.
(j) Inapplicability of Patent Prohibition.— Section 4 shall not apply to voting members of the Advisory Committees.
§ 6 Patent Trial and Appeal Board
(a) In General.— There shall be in the Office a Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the administrative patent judges shall constitute the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The administrative patent judges shall be persons of competent legal knowledge and scientific ability who are appointed by the Secretary, in consultation with the Director. Any reference in any Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of or pertaining to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences is deemed to refer to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
(b) Duties.— The Patent Trial and Appeal Board shall— on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents pursuant to section 134(a); review appeals of reexaminations pursuant to section 134(b); conduct derivation proceedings pursuant to section 135; and conduct inter partes reviews and post-grant reviews pursuant to chapters 31 and 32.
(c) 3-Member Panels.— Each appeal, derivation proceeding, post-grant review, and inter partes review shall be heard by at least 3 members of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, who shall be designated by the Director. Only the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may grant rehearings.
(d) Treatment of Prior Appointments.— The Secretary of Commerce may, in the Secretary’s discretion, deem the appointment of an administrative patent judge who, before the date of the enactment of this subsection, held office pursuant to an appointment by the Director to take effect on the date on which the Director initially appointed the administrative patent judge. It shall be a defense to a challenge to the appointment of an administrative patent judge on the basis of the judge’s having been originally appointed by the Director that the administrative patent judge so appointed was acting as a de facto officer.
§ 7 Library
The Director shall maintain a library of scientific and other works and periodicals, both foreign and domestic, in the Patent and Trademark Office to aid the officers in the discharge of their duties. ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 793 , § 8; Pub. L. 93–596, § 1 , Jan. 2, 1975 , 88 Stat. 1949 ; renumbered § 7 and amended Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §§ 4717(1), 4732(a)(10)(A)] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–580, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B) , Nov. 2, 2002 , 116 Stat. 1906 .)
§ 8 Classification of patents
The Director may revise and maintain the classification by subject matter of United States letters patent, and such other patents and printed publications as may be necessary or practicable, for the purpose of determining with readiness and accuracy the novelty of inventions for which applications for patent are filed. ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 794 , § 9; renumbered § 8 and amended Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §§ 4717(1), 4732(a)(10)(A)] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–580, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B) , Nov. 2, 2002 , 116 Stat. 1906 .)
§ 9 Certified copies of records
The Director may furnish certified copies of specifications and drawings of patents issued by the Patent and Trademark Office, and of other records available either to the public or to the person applying therefor. ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 794 , § 10; Pub. L. 93–596, § 1 , Jan. 2, 1975 , 88 Stat. 1949 ; renumbered § 9 and amended Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §§ 4717(1), 4732(a)(10)(A)] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–580, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B) , Nov. 2, 2002 , 116 Stat. 1906 .)
§ 10 Publications
(a) The Director may publish in printed, typewritten, or electronic form, the following: 1. Patents and published applications for patents, including specifications and drawings, together with copies of the same. The Patent and Trademark Office may print the headings of the drawings for patents for the purpose of photolithography. 2. Certificates of trade-mark registrations, including statements and drawings, together with copies of the same. 3. The Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 4. Annual indexes of patents and patentees, and of trade-marks and registrants. 5. Annual volumes of decisions in patent and trade-mark cases. 6. Pamphlet copies of the patent laws and rules of practice, laws and rules relating to trade-marks, and circulars or other publications relating to the business of the Office.
(b) The Director may exchange any of the publications specified in items 3, 4, 5, and 6 of subsection (a) of this section for publications desirable for the use of the Patent and Trademark Office.
§ 11 Exchange of copies of patents and applications with foreign countries
(a) In General.— The Director may exchange copies of specifications and drawings of United States patents and published applications for patents for those of foreign countries. The Director shall not enter into an agreement to provide such copies of specifications and drawings of United States patents and applications to a foreign country, other than a USMCA country or a WTO member country, without the express authorization of the Secretary of Commerce.
(b) Definitions.— In this section— the term “USMCA country” has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act ( 19 U.S.C. 4502 ); and the term “WTO member country” has the meaning given that term in section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act ( 19 U.S.C. 3501(10) ).
§ 12 Copies of patents and applications for public libraries
The Director may supply copies of specifications and drawings of patents and published applications for patents in printed or electronic form to public libraries in the United States which shall maintain such copies for the use of the public, at the rate for each year’s issue established for this purpose in section 41(d). ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 794 , § 13; Pub. L. 97–247, § 15 , Aug. 27, 1982 , 96 Stat. 321 ; renumbered § 12 and amended Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §§ 4507(3), 4717(1), 4732(a)(10)(A), 4804(c)] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–565, 1501A–580, 1501A–582, 1501A–589; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III , §§ 13205(2)(C), 13206(b)(1)(B), (3)(B), Nov. 2, 2002 , 116 Stat. 1903 , 1906; Pub. L. 112–29, § 20(j) , Sept. 16, 2011 , 125 Stat. 335 .)
§ 13 Annual report to Congress
The Director shall report to the Congress, not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year, the moneys received and expended by the Office, the purposes for which the moneys were spent, the quality and quantity of the work of the Office, the nature of training provided to examiners, the evaluation of the Commissioner of Patents and the Commissioner of Trademarks by the Secretary of Commerce, the compensation of the Commissioners, and other information relating to the Office. ( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 794 , § 14; renumbered § 13 and amended Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §§ 4717(1), 4718] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–580, 1501A–581.)