[Congressional Record: November 17, 1999 (House)]
[Page H12586-H12609]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr17no99pt2-12]

[[pp. H12586-H12609]] Congressional Record

[[Continued from page H12585]]

[[Page H12585]]

     and Thailand, the United States will negotiate concessions in
     the form of cash compensation, services, waiver of charges
     otherwise payable by the U.S. Government, and other items
     of value. During 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Government traded
     $66,620,000 in obsolete and surplus equipment to the
     Republic of Korea for a like sum in concessions. These
     concessions included reclamation of equipment that was
     deemed surplus or obsolete but for which a need
     subsequently arose, minus the costs associated with
     storing the items by the Republic of Korea. Additionally,
     the Republic of Korea demilitarized equipment at no cost
     to the United States and accepted older equipment such as
     the M48A5 tanks and the M-110A2 Howitzer from the
     stockpiles which were missing spares and no longer
     supportable.
       Section 1232 requires fair market value compensation to the
     United States for surplus and obsolete munitions. It also
     will relieve the U.S. Government of financial indebtedness
     for back storage costs and other stockpile maintenance costs,
     and save millions in cost avoidance to demilitarize, destroy,
     or retrograde the munitions and equipment back to the United
     States.
       Section 1232 requires the Department of Defense to submit a
     report to the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate and
     the International Relations Committee of the House of
     Representatives at least 30 days prior to any transfer by the
     Department of Defense to the Republic of Korea or the
     Government of Thailand, detailing such transfer and the
     negotiated concessions for excess or obsolete equipment. A
     more comprehensive accounting of such concessions is expected
     than was previously provided pursuant to authority contained
     in the Fiscal Year 1994-95 Foreign Relations Authorization
     Act (Public Law 103-236).

                       Defense Offsets Disclosure

                 DEFENSE OFFSETS DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1999

       Subtitle D of Title XII (sections 1241-1248) establishes
     United States policy on economic offsets, revises executive
     branch reporting requirements to Congress on such matters,
     expands the existing prohibition within the Arms Export
     Control Act relating to incentive payments, and establishes a
     National Commission on the Use of Offsets in Defense Trade to
     assess all aspects of the issue.
       The term ``offsets'' refers to the practice by foreign
     countries of demanding economic concessions as incentives to
     buy U.S. defense products. Notably, the demand by foreign
     nations for ``offsets'' in defense trade costs jobs and hurts
     the United States economy.
       However, it is also noted that, in this highly-competitive
     era, offsets may prove necessary. As long as foreign
     competitors are willing to offer economic concessions and
     incentives, U.S. companies risk losing important sales if
     they refuse to do likewise. The Defense Offsets Disclosure
     Act of 1999 adopts a prudent, business-friendly approach to a
     matter that is of extreme sensitivity to United States
     companies. While the long-term objective of Subtitle D is to
     curtail the use of offsets in defense trade, as a practical
     matter the Act simply establishes a process whereby the
     President should seek multilateral agreement on standards for
     the use of offsets and may, if he concurs with the findings
     of a commission of experts, commence negotiation of a treaty
     to address the issue.

         Automated Export System Relating to Export Information

            PROLIFERATION PREVENTION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1999

       Subtitle E of Title XII (sections 1251-1256) creates an
     electronic filing system for shippers export declarations
     made to the U.S. Customs Service. Specifically, the Act
     mandates use of an automated export system that has been in
     existence since 1995, but which is only used by roughly 10
     percent of the U.S. shipping community. Creation of an
     internet-based electronic system will enable the United
     States Government to track sophisticated efforts by nations
     to acquire sensitive technology. Currently, the United States
     is hampered in its efforts to track foreign acquisition
     efforts because the current export declaration process is
     paper-intensive, and because foreign nations seldom engage in
     ``one stop shopping.'' Indeed, many nations engage in diffuse
     procurement schemes to acquire components and materials from
     a wide array of sources. It is very difficult for those
     agencies within the executive branch tasked with monitoring
     foreign weapons programs to cull through mountains of paper
     to discover important patterns and linkages.
       The establishment of an internet system will assist in this
     effort. It also will, in the long-run, prove more ``business
     friendly'' than the current system. Section 1252 ensures that
     ``on-line'' help is given to those who must use the system,
     which must be secure and capable of handling the expected
     volume of information, and allows for printed hard copies of
     documents for business records. The Department of Commerce is
     expected to keep the Foreign Relations Committee of the
     Senate and the International Relations Committee of the House
     completely informed on the system's electronic architecture,
     and section 1254 requires the Department of Commerce to
     consult with other relevant agencies and submit a report on
     how the system can be optimized for law enforcement and
     nonproliferation purposes, consistent with the need to ensure
     the confidentiality of business information.
       Section 1255 also addresses concerns of the U.S. business
     community by eliminating current salary limitations for the
     Office of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State.
     These limitations, imposed by the Office of Personnel
     Management, have severely impaired the ability of ODTC to
     recruit and retain licensing officers and other individuals.
     It is anticipated that the flexibility provided under section
     1255, together with the additional resources made available
     to ODTC under section 1310, will enable the Department of
     State to improve the efficiency of ODTC.

          INTERNATIONAL ARMS SALES CODE OF CONDUCT ACT OF 1999

       Subtitle F of Title XII (sections 1261 and 1262) directs
     the President to pursue negotiations to establish an
     international regime to promote global transparency with
     respect to arms transfers, and to limit, restrict, or
     prohibit arms transfers to countries that do not observe
     certain fundamentals of human liberty, peace, and
     international stability. While the President is given
     discretion in preparing a United States negotiating position,
     section 1262(b) enumerates criteria which should factor
     prominently.
       In order to maintain momentum for negotiation of an
     international code of conduct, section 1612(c) requires
     frequent reports detailing the progress made, if any,
     throughout such negotiations. Further, this section directs
     that the annual human rights report prepared pursuant to the
     Foreign Assistance Act describe the extent to which foreign
     nations meet the criteria established under section 1262(b).

         Transfer of Naval Vessels to Certain Foreign Countries

                  AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER NAVAL VESSELS

       Section 1271 makes technical and conforming amendments to
     existing law relating to the transfer of naval vessels to
     foreign nations. Transfers of naval vessels, like the
     transfer of all military equipment, are subject to the
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
     Senate and International Relations of the House of
     Representatives. However, for budgetary scoring reasons, the
     Congressional defense committees authorized a series of ship
     transfers under section 1018 of the National Defense
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. That section
     authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer naval
     vessels when, in fact, the authority should be given to the
     President in order to remain consistent with the requirements
     of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control
     Act. Section 1271 makes this minor technical amendment; it
     also transfers the authority to exempt naval vessel transfers
     from excess defense article limitations from the defense bill
     to the foreign affairs bill, which is the appropriate
     legislative vehicle for such an authority.

                        Miscellaneous Provisions

                PUBLICATION OF ARMS SALES CERTIFICATIONS

       Section 1301 amends section 36 of the Arms Export Control
     Act to ensure that the full unclassified text of all
     certifications of arms sales, including foreign military
     sales, commercial sales, and the provision of defense
     services, is published in the Federal Register in a timely
     fashion. This section also requires that if portions of such
     certifications are classified, pursuant to section 36(b) and
     (c), the classified information be accompanied by a
     description of the damage to the national security that could
     be expected to result from public disclosure of the
     information.

  NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL EXPORT OF ITEMS ON UNITED
                         STATES MUNITIONS LIST

       Section 1302 requires U.S. commercial defense exporters to
     submit information to the Department of State which will help
     to improve arms export shipment data. This provision is
     necessary to address the long-standing problem of incomplete
     commercial arms delivery data.

                 ENFORCEMENT OF ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT

       Section 1303 strengthens enforcement of civil violations of
     the Arms Export Control Act. The Department of State relies
     on the Department of Justice to prosecute criminal violations
     of the AECA, but lacks resources to pursue administrative
     proceedings relating to civil violations as vigorously as
     would be desired.
       In order to streamline the procedures in a manner that
     would continue to ensure a fair opportunity for persons and
     firms to represent their views, while simultaneously
     encouraging the viable and vigorous enforcement that is
     critical to protecting U.S. national security, the Secretary
     of State is provided with authority similar to that used to
     enforce other statutes, including the International Emergency
     Economic Powers Act, to assess civil penalties directly in
     accordance with regulations. It is expected that the
     Department of State will still be required to commence a
     civil action in order to recover such any such disputed
     penalties, thereby continuing to afford parties an
     opportunity to contest the assessment in court. It is further
     expected that the Department will provide draft regulations
     proposed to implement this section to the Committees on
     International Relations and Foreign Relations for review,
     thereby affording defense exporters the ability to provide
     input. Such regulations should permit the parties to explain
     their actions and make known their views fully through
     written submissions and provide ample opportunity for
     settlement.
       This provision is not intended to erode due process for
     defense exporters, and such exporters, under regulations
     promulgated to

[[Page H12586]]

     implement this section, will be provided a fair and
     transparent process to understand and address any charges
     being asserted against them.

         VIOLATIONS RELATING TO MATERIAL SUPPORT TO TERRORISTS

       Section 1304 modifies section 38 of the Arms Export Control
     Act to ensure that the Office of Defense Trade Controls
     within the Department of State, which issues commercial
     defense export licenses, is fully informed of any person that
     is subject to an indictment or has been convicted of a
     violation of law regarding providing material support to
     terrorists.

AUTHORITY TO CONSENT TO THIRD PARTY TRANSFER OF EX-U.S.S. BOWMAN COUNTY
                     TO USS LST SHIP MEMORIAL, INC.

       Section 1305 enables a nonprofit veterans association to
     bring back to the United States from Greece a World War II
     Tank Landing Ship--the ex-U.S.S. Bowman County. This vessel
     will have its guns demilitarized prior to re-transfer and
     will be transformed into a movable museum that will dock at
     predetermined locations to teach children, and adults, about
     the crucial role played by tank landing ships and their crews
     during the Second World War. There is no more fitting a war
     memorial than a museum that is owned and operated by a group
     of its own veterans who are willing to dedicate their time to
     educating the citizens of the United States.

                   ANNUAL MILITARY ASSISTANCE REPORT

       Section 1306 expands and clarifies the information relating
     to military assistance and military exports that the
     President is required to transmit to Congress each February
     1, pursuant to section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
     1961. Currently, this report includes information about the
     International Military Education and Training (IMET) program,
     but not about other military education and training
     activities that the United States conducts with foreign
     countries. It is intended that future reports include
     information about activities under Title 10 of the U.S. Code,
     such as the Military-to-Military Contacts Program (MMCP) and
     the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program. This
     provision is not intended, however, to cover joint
     military exercises or NATO operations.
       Section 1306 also requires separate identification of
     defense articles furnished with the financial assistance of
     the U.S. government, such as Foreign Military Financing loans
     and U.S. government-backed loan guarantees. These items are
     currently grouped together with commercial sales. Finally,
     the provision requires that the report be published in
     unclassified form on the internet through the State
     Department.

                ANNUAL FOREIGN MILITARY TRAINING REPORT

       Section 1307 creates a new report to be jointly prepared by
     the Departments of State and Defense. The report is to cover
     all military training provided to foreign military personnel
     by the Departments of Defense and State. The provision also
     requires that the report be published in unclassified form on
     the State Department's internet website.

                SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR THE PHILIPPINES

       Section 1308 establishes United States policy for the
     transfer of excess defense articles to the Philippines and
     authorizes $5,000,000 in foreign military financing for each
     of fiscal years 2000 and 2001. The section encourages the
     President to transfer to the Philippines, on a grant basis,
     UH-1H helicopters, A-4 aircraft, amphibious landing craft,
     and other naval vessels that become available under the
     excess defense articles program. Section 1309 is viewed as a
     way of expressing Congressional support for reinvigorating
     our security relationship with the Philippines.

          EFFECTIVE REGULATION OF SATELLITE EXPORT ACTIVITIES

       Section 1309 establishes a requirement for the Department
     of State to expedite the export of commercial communications
     satellites (and related equipment) to NATO and major non-NATO
     allies when appropriate. It is intended that the
     determination of appropriateness reside with the Department
     of State. Section 1309 establishes four criteria that should
     denote a satellite or satellite-related license as eligible
     for expedited consideration. However, section 1309 makes
     clear that U.S. national security considerations and U.S.
     obligations under the Missile Technology Control Regime are
     given priority in the evaluation of any license, regardless
     of its end-user or time-sensitive nature. Further, the
     provision makes clear that the Department of State is, at all
     times, to provide such time as is necessary for U.S. national
     security agencies to fully review a license.
       Section 1309 also seeks to expedite the licensing of United
     States Munitions List items across the board by applying
     additional resources to the Office of Defense Trade Controls
     within the Department of State. The provision authorizes
     $9,000,000 for ODTC for each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001.
     Additional resources are intended to be used to hire
     licensing officers and enforcement personnel, and to update
     ODTC's computer systems. Frequent, periodic briefings on ODTC
     plans and expenditures are expected and there is interest in
     progress toward implementing an internet-based filing and
     review system for Munitions List items.

      STUDY ON LICENSING PROCESS UNDER THE ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT

       Section 1310 requests that the Department of State
     undertake a highly-technical, highly-detailed analysis of the
     defense trade licensed by the Department of State. The broad
     scope of the information sought under section 1310 is
     intended to provide the Congress with information that will
     assist the committees of jurisdiction in working with the
     Department of State to improve the licensing process.

             REPORT CONCERNING PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS

       Section 1311 requires the Department of State to complete
     an analysis of the global trade in small arms. The illicit
     transfer of small and light arms constitutes a source of
     global instability, but recognize that the monitoring of such
     trafficking is difficult. It is expected that Assistant
     Secretary for Verification and Compliance to be responsible
     for preparing portions of this report, including that
     relating to United States monitoring of the compliance of
     foreign governments with their commitments under
     international agreements.

                          CONFORMING AMENDMENT

       Section 1312 is a conforming amendment to the Fiscal Year
     1999 Defense Authorization Act. Specifically, section 1312
     ensures that the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate
     and the International Relations Committee of the House will
     be notified of developments in the pursuit of alternatives to
     anti-personnel land mines.

                       SENSE OF CONGRESS LANGUAGE

       Sense of Senate or Sense of the Congress provisions
     approved in previous authorization bills were not included in
     the final bill. The House and Senate provisions, as passed,
     reflect the views of each of the respective houses of
     Congress.
       The conference agreement would enact the provisions of H.R.
     3428, as introduced on November 17, 1999. The text of that
     bill follows:
       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. USE OF OPTION 1A AS PRICE STRUCTURE FOR CLASS I
                   MILK UNDER CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL MILK MARKETING
                   ORDERS.

       (a) Final Rule Defined.--In this section, the term ``final
     rule'' means the final rule for the consolidation and reform
     of Federal milk marketing orders that was published in the
     Federal Register on September 1, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 47897-
     48021), to comply with section 143 of the Federal Agriculture
     Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7253).
       (b) Implementation of Final Rule for Milk Order Reform.--
     Subject to subsection (c), the final rule shall take effect,
     and be implemented by the Secretary of Agriculture, on the
     first day of the first month beginning at least 30 days after
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (c) Use of Option 1A for Pricing Class I Milk.--In lieu of
     the Class I price differentials specified in the final rule,
     the Secretary of Agriculture shall price fluid or Class I
     milk under the Federal milk marketing orders using the Class
     I price differentials identified as Option 1A ``Location-
     Specific Differentials Analysis'' in the proposed rule
     published in the Federal Register on January 30, 1998 (63
     Fed. Reg. 4802, 4809), except that the Secretary shall
     include the corrections and modifications to such Class I
     differentials made by the Secretary through April 2, 1999.
       (d) Effect of Prior Announcement of Minimum Prices.--If the
     Secretary of Agriculture announces minimum prices for milk
     under Federal milk marketing orders pursuant to section
     1000.50 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, before the
     effective date specified in subsection (b), the minimum
     prices so announced before that date shall be the only
     applicable minimum prices under Federal milk marketing orders
     for the month or months for which the prices have been
     announced.
       (e) Implementation of Requirement.--The implementation of
     the final rule, as modified by subsection (c), shall not be
     subject to any of the following:
       (1) The notice and hearing requirements of section 8c(3) of
     the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(3)), reenacted
     with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act
     of 1937, or the notice and comment provisions of section 553
     of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) A referendum conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture
     pursuant to subsections (17) or (19) of section 8c of the
     Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted with
     amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of
     1937.
       (3) The Statement of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture
     effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to
     notices of proposed rulemaking and public participation in
     rulemaking.
       (4) Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly
     known as the Paperwork Reduction Act).
       (5) Any decision, restraining order, or injunction issued
     by a United States court before the date of the enactment of
     this Act.

     SEC. 2. FURTHER RULEMAKING TO DEVELOP PRICING METHODS FOR
                   CLASS III AND CLASS IV MILK UNDER MARKETING
                   ORDERS.

       (a) Congressional Finding.--The Class III and Class IV milk
     pricing formulas included in the final decision for the
     consolidation and reform of Federal milk marketing orders, as
     published in the Federal Register on April 2, 1999 (64 Fed.
     Reg. 16025), do not adequately reflect public comment on the
     original proposed rule published in the Federal Register on
     January 30, 1998 (63 Fed. Reg. 4802), and are sufficiently
     different from the proposed rule and any comments submitted
     with regard to the proposed rule that further emergency
     rulemaking is merited.
       (b) Rulemaking Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture
     shall conduct rulemaking, on the

[[Page H12587]]

     record after an opportunity for an agency hearing, to
     reconsider the Class III and Class IV milk pricing formulas
     included in the final rule for the consolidation and reform
     of Federal milk marketing orders that was published in the
     Federal Register on September 1, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 47897-
     48021).
       (c) Time Period for Rulemaking.--On December 1, 2000, the
     Secretary of Agriculture shall publish in the Federal
     Register a final decision on the Class III and Class IV milk
     pricing formulas. The resulting formulas shall take effect,
     and be implemented by the Secretary, on January 1, 2001.
       (d) Effect of Court Order.--The actions authorized by
     subsections (b) and (c) are intended to ensure the timely
     publication and implementation of new pricing formulas for
     Class III and Class IV milk. In the event that the Secretary
     of Agriculture is enjoined or otherwise restrained by a court
     order from implementing a final decision within the time
     period specified in subsection (c), the length of time for
     which that injunction or other restraining order is effective
     shall be added to the time limitations specified in
     subsection (c) thereby extending those time limitations by a
     period of time equal to the period of time for which the
     injunction or other restraining order is effective.
       (e) Failure To Timely Complete Rulemaking.--If the
     Secretary of Agriculture fails to implement new Class III and
     Class IV milk pricing formulas within the time period
     required under subsection (c) (plus any additional period
     provided under subsection (d)), the Secretary may not assess
     or collect assessments from milk producers or handlers under
     section 8c of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C.
     608c), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural
     Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, for marketing order
     administration and services provided under such section after
     the end of that period until the pricing formulas are
     implemented. The Secretary may not reduce the level of
     services provided under that section on account of the
     prohibition against assessments, but shall rather cover the
     cost of marketing order administration and services through
     funds available for the Agricultural Marketing Service of the
     Department.
       (f) Implementation of Requirement.--The implementation of
     the final decision on new Class III and Class IV milk pricing
     formulas shall not be subject to congressional review under
     chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code.

     SEC. 3. DAIRY FORWARD PRICING PROGRAM.

       The Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),
     reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing
     Agreement Act of 1937, is amended by adding at the end the
     following new section:

     ``SEC. 23. DAIRY FORWARD PRICING PILOT PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Pilot Program Required.--Not later than 90 days after
     the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of
     Agriculture shall establish a temporary pilot program under
     which milk producers and cooperatives are authorized to
     voluntarily enter into forward price contracts with milk
     handlers.
       ``(b) Minimum Milk Price Requirements.--Payments made by
     milk handlers to milk producers and cooperatives, and prices
     received by milk producers and cooperatives, under the
     forward contracts shall be deemed to satisfy--
       ``(1) all regulated minimum milk price requirements of
     paragraphs (B) and (F) of subsection (5) of section 8c; and
       ``(2) the requirement of paragraph (C) of such subsection
     regarding total payments by each handler.
       ``(c) Milk Covered by Pilot Program.--
       ``(1) Covered milk.--The pilot program shall apply only
     with respect to the marketing of federally regulated milk
     that--
       ``(A) is not classified as Class I milk or otherwise
     intended for fluid use; and
       ``(B) is in the current of interstate or foreign commerce
     or directly burdens, obstructs, or affects interstate or
     foreign commerce in federally regulated milk.
       ``(2) Relation to class i milk.--To assist milk handlers in
     complying with the limitation in paragraph (1)(A) without
     having to segregate or otherwise individually track the
     source and disposition of milk, a milk handler may allocate
     milk receipts from producers, cooperatives, and other sources
     that are not subject to a forward contract to satisfy the
     handler's obligations with regard to Class I milk usage.
       ``(d) Duration.--The authority of the Secretary of
     Agriculture to carry out the pilot program shall terminate on
     December 31, 2004. No forward price contract entered into
     under the program may extend beyond that date.
       ``(e) Study and Report on Effect of Pilot Program.--
       ``(1) Study.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a
     study on forward contracting between milk producers and
     cooperatives and milk handlers to determine the impact on
     milk prices paid to producers in the United States. To obtain
     information for the study, the Secretary may use the
     authorities available to the Secretary under section 8d,
     subject to the confidentiality requirements of subsection (2)
     of such section.
       ``(2) Report.--Not later than April 30, 2002, the Secretary
     shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and
     Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of
     the House of Representatives a report containing the results
     of the study.''.

     SEC. 4. CONTINUATION OF CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT FOR NORTHEAST
                   INTERSTATE DAIRY COMPACT.

       Section 147(3) of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7
     U.S.C. 7256(3)) is amended by striking ``concurrent with''
     and all that follows through the period at the end and
     inserting ``on September 30, 2001.''.
       Following is explanatory language on S. 1948 as introduced
     on November 17, 1999.
       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the
     ``Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act
     of 1999''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

               TITLE I--SATELLITE HOME VIEWER IMPROVEMENT

Sec. 1001. Short title.
Sec. 1002. Limitations on exclusive rights; secondary transmissions by
              satellite
              carriers within local markets.
Sec. 1003. Extension of effect of amendments to section 119 of title
              17, United States Code.
Sec. 1004. Computation of royalty fees for satellite carriers.
Sec. 1005. Distant signal eligibility for consumers.
Sec. 1006. Public broadcasting service satellite feed.
Sec. 1007. Application of Federal Communications Commission
              regulations.
Sec. 1008. Rules for satellite carriers retransmitting television
              broadcast signals.
Sec. 1009. Retransmission consent.
Sec. 1010. Severability.
Sec. 1011. Technical amendments.
Sec. 1012. Effective dates.

                TITLE II--RURAL LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS

Sec. 2001. Short title.
Sec. 2002. Local television service in unserved and underserved
              markets.

              TITLE III--TRADEMARK CYBERPIRACY PREVENTION

Sec. 3001. Short title; references.
Sec. 3002. Cyberpiracy prevention.
Sec. 3003. Damages and remedies.
Sec. 3004. Limitation on liability.
Sec. 3005. Definitions.
Sec. 3006. Study on abusive domain name registrations involving
              personal names.
Sec. 3007. Historic preservation.
Sec. 3008. Savings clause.
Sec. 3009. Technical and conforming amendments.
Sec. 3010. Effective date.

                     TITLE IV--INVENTOR PROTECTION

Sec. 4001. Short title.

                     Subtitle A--Inventors' Rights

Sec. 4101. Short title.
Sec. 4102. Integrity in invention promotion services.
Sec. 4103. Effective date.

             Subtitle B--Patent and Trademark Fee Fairness

Sec. 4201. Short title.
Sec. 4202. Adjustment of patent fees.
Sec. 4203. Adjustment of trademark fees.
Sec. 4204. Study on alternative fee structures.
Sec. 4205. Patent and Trademark Office Funding.
Sec. 4206. Effective date.

                   Subtitle C--First Inventor Defense

Sec. 4301. Short title.
Sec. 4302. Defense to patent infringement based on earlier inventor.
Sec. 4303. Effective date and applicability.

                   Subtitle D--Patent Term Guarantee

Sec. 4401. Short title.
Sec. 4402. Patent term guarantee authority.
Sec. 4403. Continued examination of patent applications.
Sec. 4404. Technical clarification.
Sec. 4405. Effective date.

   Subtitle E--Domestic Publication of Patent Applications Published
                                 Abroad

Sec. 4501. Short title.
Sec. 4502. Publication.
Sec. 4503. Time for claiming benefit of earlier filing date.
Sec. 4504. Provisional rights.
Sec. 4505. Prior art effect of published applications.
Sec. 4506. Cost recovery for publication.
Sec. 4507. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 4508. Effective date.

       Subtitle F--Optional Inter Partes Reexamination Procedure

Sec. 4601. Short title.
Sec. 4602. Ex parte reexamination of patents.
Sec. 4603. Definitions.
Sec. 4604. Optional inter partes reexamination procedures.
Sec. 4605. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 4606. Report to Congress.
Sec. 4607. Estoppel effect of reexamination.
Sec. 4608. Effective date.

                Subtitle G--Patent and Trademark Office

Sec. 4701. Short title.

          Chapter 1--United States Patent and Trademark Office

Sec. 4711. Establishment of Patent and Trademark Office.
Sec. 4712. Powers and duties.
Sec. 4713. Organization and management.
Sec. 4714. Public advisory committees.
Sec. 4715. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 4716. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Sec. 4717. Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
Sec. 4718. Annual report of Director.
Sec. 4719. Suspension or exclusion from practice.
Sec. 4720. Pay of Director and Deputy Director.

            Chapter 2--Effective Date; Technical Amendments

Sec. 4731. Effective date.
Sec. 4732. Technical and conforming amendments.

                  Chapter 3--Miscellaneous Provisions

Sec. 4741. References.

[[Page H12588]]

Sec. 4742. Exercise of authorities.
Sec. 4743. Savings provisions.
Sec. 4744. Transfer of assets.
Sec. 4745. Delegation and assignment.
Sec. 4746. Authority of Director of the Office of Management and Budget
              with respect to functions transferred.
Sec. 4747. Certain vesting of functions considered transfers.
Sec. 4748. Availability of existing funds.
Sec. 4749. Definitions.

              Subtitle H--Miscellaneous Patent Provisions

Sec. 4801. Provisional applications.
Sec. 4802. International applications.
Sec. 4803. Certain limitations on damages for patent infringement not
              applicable.
Sec. 4804. Electronic filing and publications.
Sec. 4805. Study and report on biological deposits in support of
              biotechnology
              patents.
Sec. 4806. Prior invention.
Sec. 4807. Prior art exclusion for certain commonly assigned patents.
Sec. 4808. Exchange of copies of patents with foreign countries.

                   TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 5001. Commission on online child protection.
Sec. 5002. Privacy protection for donors to public broadcasting
              entities.
Sec. 5003. Completion of biennial regulatory review.
Sec. 5004. Public broadcasting entities.
Sec. 5005. Technical amendments relating to vessel hull design
              protection.
Sec. 5006. Informal rulemaking of copyright determination.
Sec. 5007. Service of process for surety corporations.
Sec. 5008. Low-power television.

                  TITLE VI--SUPERFUND RECYCLING EQUITY

Sec. 6001. Superfund recycling equity.

               TITLE I--SATELLITE HOME VIEWER IMPROVEMENT

     SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Satellite Home Viewer
     Improvement Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 1002. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS; SECONDARY
                   TRANSMISSIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS WITHIN
                   LOCAL MARKETS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code,
     is amended by adding after section 121 the following new
     section:

     ``Sec. 122. Limitations on exclusive rights; secondary
       transmissions by satellite carriers within local markets

       ``(a) Secondary Transmissions of Television Broadcast
     Stations by Satellite Carriers.--A secondary transmission of
     a performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission of a television broadcast station into the
     station's local market shall be subject to statutory
     licensing under this section if--
       ``(1) the secondary transmission is made by a satellite
     carrier to the public;
       ``(2) with regard to secondary transmissions, the satellite
     carrier is in compliance with the rules, regulations, or
     authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission
     governing the carriage of television broadcast station
     signals; and
       ``(3) the satellite carrier makes a direct or indirect
     charge for the secondary transmission to--
       ``(A) each subscriber receiving the secondary transmission;
     or
       ``(B) a distributor that has contracted with the satellite
     carrier for direct or indirect delivery of the secondary
     transmission to the public.
       ``(b) Reporting Requirements.--
       ``(1) Initial lists.--A satellite carrier that makes
     secondary transmissions of a primary transmission made by a
     network station under subsection (a) shall, within 90 days
     after commencing such secondary transmissions, submit to the
     network that owns or is affiliated with the network station a
     list identifying (by name in alphabetical order and street
     address, including county and zip code) all subscribers to
     which the satellite carrier makes secondary transmissions of
     that primary transmission under subsection (a).
       ``(2) Subsequent lists.--After the list is submitted under
     paragraph (1), the satellite carrier shall, on the 15th of
     each month, submit to the network a list identifying (by name
     in alphabetical order and street address, including county
     and zip code) any subscribers who have been added or dropped
     as subscribers since the last submission under this
     subsection.
       ``(3) Use of subscriber information.--Subscriber
     information submitted by a satellite carrier under this
     subsection may be used only for the purposes of monitoring
     compliance by the satellite carrier with this section.
       ``(4) Requirements of networks.--The submission
     requirements of this subsection shall apply to a satellite
     carrier only if the network to which the submissions are to
     be made places on file with the Register of Copyrights a
     document identifying the name and address of the person to
     whom such submissions are to be made. The Register of
     Copyrights shall maintain for public inspection a file of all
     such documents.
       ``(c) No Royalty Fee Required.--A satellite carrier whose
     secondary transmissions are subject to statutory licensing
     under subsection (a) shall have no royalty obligation for
     such secondary transmissions.
       ``(d) Noncompliance With Reporting and Regulatory
     Requirements.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the willful or
     repeated secondary transmission to the public by a satellite
     carrier into the local market of a television broadcast
     station of a primary transmission embodying a performance or
     display of a work made by that television broadcast station
     is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501,
     and is fully subject to the remedies provided under sections
     502 through 506 and 509, if the satellite carrier has not
     complied with the reporting requirements of subsection (b) or
     with the rules, regulations, and authorizations of the
     Federal Communications Commission concerning the carriage of
     television broadcast signals.
       ``(e) Willful Alterations.--Notwithstanding subsection (a),
     the secondary transmission to the public by a satellite
     carrier into the local market of a television broadcast
     station of a performance or display of a work embodied in a
     primary transmission made by that television broadcast
     station is actionable as an act of infringement under section
     501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by
     sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, if the
     content of the particular program in which the performance or
     display is embodied, or any commercial advertising or station
     announcement transmitted by the primary transmitter during,
     or immediately before or after, the transmission of such
     program, is in any way willfully altered by the satellite
     carrier through changes, deletions, or additions, or is
     combined with programming from any other broadcast signal.
       ``(f ) Violation of Territorial Restrictions on Statutory
     License for Television Broadcast Stations.--
       ``(1) Individual violations.--The willful or repeated
     secondary transmission to the public by a satellite carrier
     of a primary transmission embodying a performance or display
     of a work made by a television broadcast station to a
     subscriber who does not reside in that station's local
     market, and is not subject to statutory licensing under
     section 119 or a private licensing agreement, is actionable
     as an act of infringement under section 501 and is fully
     subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506
     and 509, except that--
       ``(A) no damages shall be awarded for such act of
     infringement if the satellite carrier took corrective action
     by promptly withdrawing service from the ineligible
     subscriber; and
       ``(B) any statutory damages shall not exceed $5 for such
     subscriber for each month during which the violation
     occurred.
       ``(2) Pattern of violations.--If a satellite carrier
     engages in a willful or repeated pattern or practice of
     secondarily transmitting to the public a primary transmission
     embodying a performance or display of a work made by a
     television broadcast station to subscribers who do not reside
     in that station's local market, and are not subject to
     statutory licensing under section 119 or a private licensing
     agreement, then in addition to the remedies under paragraph
     (1)--
       ``(A) if the pattern or practice has been carried out on a
     substantially nationwide basis, the court--
       ``(i) shall order a permanent injunction barring the
     secondary transmission by the satellite carrier of the
     primary transmissions of that television broadcast station
     (and if such television broadcast station is a network
     station, all other television broadcast stations affiliated
     with such network); and
       ``(ii) may order statutory damages not exceeding $250,000
     for each 6-month period during which the pattern or practice
     was carried out; and
       ``(B) if the pattern or practice has been carried out on a
     local or regional basis with respect to more than one
     television broadcast station, the court--
       ``(i) shall order a permanent injunction barring the
     secondary transmission in that locality or region by the
     satellite carrier of the primary transmissions of any
     television broadcast station; and
       ``(ii) may order statutory damages not exceeding $250,000
     for each 6-month period during which the pattern or practice
     was carried out.
       ``(g) Burden of Proof.--In any action brought under
     subsection (f ), the satellite carrier shall have the burden
     of proving that its secondary transmission of a primary
     transmission by a television broadcast station is made only
     to subscribers located within that station's local market or
     subscribers being served in compliance with section 119 or a
     private licensing agreement.
       ``(h) Geographic Limitations on Secondary Transmissions.--
     The statutory license created by this section shall apply to
     secondary transmissions to locations in the United States.
       ``(i) Exclusivity With Respect to Secondary Transmissions
     of Broadcast Stations by Satellite to Members of the
     Public.--No provision of section 111 or any other law (other
     than this section and section 119) shall be construed to
     contain any authorization, exemption, or license through
     which secondary transmissions by satellite carriers of
     programming contained in a primary transmission made by a
     television broadcast station may be made without obtaining
     the consent of the copyright owner.
       ``( j) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) Distributor.--The term `distributor' means an entity
     which contracts to distribute secondary transmissions from a
     satellite carrier and, either as a single channel or in a
     package with other programming, provides the secondary
     transmission either directly to individual subscribers or
     indirectly through other program distribution entities.
       ``(2) Local market.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `local market', in the case of
     both commercial and noncommercial television broadcast
     stations, means the designated market area in which a station
     is located, and--
       ``(i) in the case of a commercial television broadcast
     station, all commercial television broadcast stations
     licensed to a community within the same designated market
     area are within the same local market; and
       ``(ii) in the case of a noncommercial educational
     television broadcast station, the market

[[Page H12589]]

     includes any station that is licensed to a community within
     the same designated market area as the noncommercial
     educational television broadcast station.
       ``(B) County of license.--In addition to the area described
     in subparagraph (A), a station's local market includes the
     county in which the station's community of license is
     located.
       ``(C) Designated market area.--For purposes of subparagraph
     (A), the term `designated market area' means a designated
     market area, as determined by Nielsen Media Research and
     published in the 1999-2000 Nielsen Station Index Directory
     and Nielsen Station Index United States Television Household
     Estimates or any successor publication.
       ``(3) Network station; satellite carrier; secondary
     transmission.--The terms `network station', `satellite
     carrier', and `secondary transmission' have the meanings
     given such terms under section 119(d).
       ``(4) Subscriber.--The term `subscriber' means a person who
     receives a secondary transmission service from a satellite
     carrier and pays a fee for the service, directly or
     indirectly, to the satellite carrier or to a distributor.
       ``(5) Television broadcast station.--The term `television
     broadcast station'--
       ``(A) means an over-the-air, commercial or noncommercial
     television broadcast station licensed by the Federal
     Communications Commission under subpart E of part 73 of title
     47, Code of Federal Regulations, except that such term does
     not include a low-power or translator television station; and
       ``(B) includes a television broadcast station licensed by
     an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico if
     the station broadcasts primarily in the English language and
     is a network station as defined in section 119(d)(2)(A).''.
       (b) Infringement of Copyright.--Section 501 of title 17,
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
     following new subsection:
       ``(f )(1) With respect to any secondary transmission that
     is made by a satellite carrier of a performance or display of
     a work embodied in a primary transmission and is actionable
     as an act of infringement under section 122, a television
     broadcast station holding a copyright or other license to
     transmit or perform the same version of that work shall, for
     purposes of subsection (b) of this section, be treated as a
     legal or beneficial owner if such secondary transmission
     occurs within the local market of that station.
       ``(2) A television broadcast station may file a civil
     action against any satellite carrier that has refused to
     carry television broadcast signals, as required under section
     122(a)(2), to enforce that television broadcast station's
     rights under section 338(a) of the Communications Act of
     1934.''.
       (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The table of
     sections for chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended by adding after the item relating to section 121 the
     following:

``122. Limitations on exclusive rights; secondary transmissions by
              satellite carriers within local market.''.

     SEC. 1003. EXTENSION OF EFFECT OF AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 119
                   OF TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE.

       Section 4(a) of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994 (17
     U.S.C. 119 note; Public Law 103-369; 108 Stat. 3481) is
     amended by striking ``December 31, 1999'' and inserting
     ``December 31, 2004''.

     SEC. 1004. COMPUTATION OF ROYALTY FEES FOR SATELLITE
                   CARRIERS.

       Section 119(c) of title 17, United States Code, is amended
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Reduction.--
       ``(A) Superstation.--The rate of the royalty fee in effect
     on January 1, 1998, payable in each case under subsection
     (b)(1)(B)(i) shall be reduced by 30 percent.
       ``(B) Network and public broadcasting satellite feed.--The
     rate of the royalty fee in effect on January 1, 1998, payable
     under subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii) shall be reduced by 45
     percent.
       ``(5) Public broadcasting service as agent.--For purposes
     of section 802, with respect to royalty fees paid by
     satellite carriers for retransmitting the Public Broadcasting
     Service satellite feed, the Public Broadcasting Service shall
     be the agent for all public television copyright claimants
     and all Public Broadcasting Service member stations.''.

     SEC. 1005. DISTANT SIGNAL ELIGIBILITY FOR CONSUMERS.

       (a) Unserved Household.--
       (1) In general.--Section 119(d) of title 17, United States
     Code, is amended by striking paragraph (10) and inserting the
     following:
       ``(10) Unserved household.--The term `unserved household',
     with respect to a particular television network, means a
     household that--
       ``(A) cannot receive, through the use of a conventional,
     stationary, outdoor rooftop receiving antenna, an over-the-
     air signal of a primary network station affiliated with that
     network of Grade B intensity as defined by the Federal
     Communications Commission under section 73.683(a) of title 47
     of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on January
     1, 1999;
       ``(B) is subject to a waiver granted under regulations
     established under section 339(c)(2) of the Communications Act
     of 1934;
       ``(C) is a subscriber to whom subsection (e) applies;
       ``(D) is a subscriber to whom subsection (a)(11) applies;
     or
       ``(E) is a subscriber to whom the exemption under
     subsection (a)(2)(B)(iii) applies.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 119(a)(2)(B) of title
     17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) Secondary transmissions to unserved households.--
       ``(i) In general.--The statutory license provided for in
     subparagraph (A) shall be limited to secondary transmissions
     of the signals of no more than two network stations in a
     single day for each television network to persons who reside
     in unserved households.
       ``(ii) Accurate determinations of eligibility.--

       ``(I) Accurate predictive model.--In determining
     presumptively whether a person resides in an unserved
     household under subsection (d)(10)(A), a court shall rely on
     the Individual Location Longley-Rice model set forth by the
     Federal Communications Commission in Docket No. 98-201, as
     that model may be amended by the Commission over time under
     section 339(c)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 to
     increase the accuracy of that model.
       ``(II) Accurate measurements.--For purposes of site
     measurements to determine whether a person resides in an
     unserved household under subsection (d)(10)(A), a court shall
     rely on section 339(c)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934.

       ``(iii) C-band exemption to unserved households.--

       ``(I) In general.--The limitations of clause (i) shall not
     apply to any secondary transmissions by C-band services of
     network stations that a subscriber to C-band service received
     before any termination of such secondary transmissions before
     October 31, 1999.
       ``(II) Definition.--In this clause the term `C-band
     service' means a service that is licensed by the Federal
     Communications Commission and operates in the Fixed Satellite
     Service under part 25 of title 47 of the Code of Federal
     Regulations.''.

       (b) Exception to Limitation on Secondary Transmissions.--
     Section 119(a)(5) of title 17, United States Code, is amended
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) Exception.--The secondary transmission by a satellite
     carrier of a performance or display of a work embodied in a
     primary transmission made by a network station to subscribers
     who do not reside in unserved households shall not be an act
     of infringement if--
       ``(i) the station on May 1, 1991, was retransmitted by a
     satellite carrier and was not on that date owned or operated
     by or affiliated with a television network that offered
     interconnected program service on a regular basis for 15 or
     more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated television
     licensees in 10 or more States;
       ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted
     by a satellite carrier under the statutory license of this
     section; and
       ``(iii) the station is not owned or operated by or
     affiliated with a television network that, as of January 1,
     1995, offered interconnected program service on a regular
     basis for 15 or more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated
     television licensees in 10 or more States.''.
       (c) Moratorium on Copyright Liability.--Section 119(e) of
     title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(e) Moratorium on Copyright Liability.--Until December
     31, 2004, a subscriber who does not receive a signal of Grade
     A intensity (as defined in the regulations of the Federal
     Communications Commission under section 73.683(a) of title 47
     of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on January
     1, 1999, or predicted by the Federal Communications
     Commission using the Individual Location Longley-Rice
     methodology described by the Federal Communications
     Commission in Docket No. 98-201) of a local network
     television broadcast station shall remain eligible to receive
     signals of network stations affiliated with the same network,
     if that subscriber had satellite service of such network
     signal terminated after July 11, 1998, and before October 31,
     1999, as required by this section, or received such service
     on October 31, 1999.''.
       (d) Recreational Vehicle and Commercial Truck Exemption.--
     Section 119(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) Service to recreational vehicles and commercial
     trucks.--
       ``(A) Exemption.--
       ``(i) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, and
     subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), the term `unserved
     household' shall include--

       ``(I) recreational vehicles as defined in regulations of
     the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under section
     3282.8 of title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
       ``(II) commercial trucks that qualify as commercial motor
     vehicles under regulations of the Secretary of Transportation
     under section 383.5 of title 49 of the Code of Federal
     Regulations.

       ``(ii) Limitation.--Clause (i) shall apply only to a
     recreational vehicle or commercial truck if any satellite
     carrier that proposes to make a secondary transmission of a
     network station to the operator of such a recreational
     vehicle or commercial truck complies with the documentation
     requirements under subparagraphs (B) and (C).
       ``(iii) Exclusion.--For purposes of this subparagraph, the
     terms `recreational vehicle' and `commercial truck' shall not
     include any fixed dwelling, whether a mobile home or
     otherwise.
       ``(B) Documentation requirements.--A recreational vehicle
     or commercial truck shall be deemed to be an unserved
     household beginning 10 days after the relevant satellite
     carrier provides to the network that owns or is affiliated
     with the network station that will be secondarily transmitted
     to the recreational vehicle or commercial truck the following
     documents:
       ``(i) Declaration.--A signed declaration by the operator of
     the recreational vehicle or commercial truck that the
     satellite dish is permanently attached to the recreational
     vehicle or commercial truck, and will not be used to receive
     satellite programming at any fixed dwelling.
       ``(ii) Registration.--In the case of a recreational
     vehicle, a copy of the current State vehicle registration for
     the recreational vehicle.
       ``(iii) Registration and license.--In the case of a
     commercial truck, a copy of--

[[Page H12590]]

       ``(I) the current State vehicle registration for the truck;
     and
       ``(II) a copy of a valid, current commercial driver's
     license, as defined in regulations of the Secretary of
     Transportation under section 383 of title 49 of the Code of
     Federal Regulations, issued to the operator.

       ``(C) Updated documentation requirements.--If a satellite
     carrier wishes to continue to make secondary transmissions to
     a recreational vehicle or commercial truck for more than a 2-
     year period, that carrier shall provide each network, upon
     request, with updated documentation in the form described
     under subparagraph (B) during the 90 days before expiration
     of that 2-year period.''.
       (e) Conforming Amendment.--Section 119(d)(11) of title 17,
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(11) Local market.--The term `local market' has the
     meaning given such term under section 122( j).''.

     SEC. 1006. PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE SATELLITE FEED.

       (a) Secondary Transmissions.--Section 119(a)(1) of title
     17, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking the paragraph heading and inserting ``(1)
     Superstations and pbs satellite feed.--'';
       (2) by inserting ``or by the Public Broadcasting Service
     satellite feed'' after ``superstation''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following: ``In the case of
     the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed, the statutory
     license shall be effective until January 1, 2002.''.
       (b) Royalty Fees.--Section 119(b)(1)(B)(iii) of title 17,
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``or the Public
     Broadcasting Service satellite feed'' after ``network
     station''.
       (c) Definitions.--Section 119(d) of title 17, United States
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
       ``(9) Superstation.--The term `superstation'--
       ``(A) means a television broadcast station, other than a
     network station, licensed by the Federal Communications
     Commission that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite
     carrier; and
       ``(B) except for purposes of computing the royalty fee,
     includes the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed.'';
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(12) Public broadcasting service satellite feed.--The
     term `Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed' means the
     national satellite feed distributed and designated for
     purposes of this section by the Public Broadcasting Service
     consisting of educational and informational programming
     intended for private home viewing, to which the Public
     Broadcasting Service holds national terrestrial broadcast
     rights.''.

     SEC. 1007. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                   REGULATIONS.

       Section 119(a) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``with regard to
     secondary transmissions the satellite carrier is in
     compliance with the rules, regulations, or authorizations of
     the Federal Communications Commission governing the carriage
     of television broadcast station signals,'' after ``satellite
     carrier to the public for private home viewing,'';
       (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``with regard to
     secondary transmissions the satellite carrier is in
     compliance with the rules, regulations, or authorizations of
     the Federal Communications Commission governing the carriage
     of television broadcast station signals,'' after ``satellite
     carrier to the public for private home viewing,''; and
       (3) by adding at the end of such subsection (as amended by
     section 1005(e) of this Act) the following new paragraph:
       ``(12) Statutory license contingent on compliance with fcc
     rules and remedial steps.--Notwithstanding any other
     provision of this section, the willful or repeated secondary
     transmission to the public by a satellite carrier of a
     primary transmission embodying a performance or display of a
     work made by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal
     Communications Commission is actionable as an act of
     infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the
     remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509, if, at
     the time of such transmission, the satellite carrier is not
     in compliance with the rules, regulations, and authorizations
     of the Federal Communications Commission concerning the
     carriage of television broadcast station signals.''.

     SEC. 1008. RULES FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RETRANSMITTING
                   TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNALS.

       (a) Amendments to Communications Act of 1934.--Title III of
     the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after
     section 337 (47 U.S.C. 337) the following new sections:

     ``SEC. 338. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY SATELLITE
                   CARRIERS.

       ``(a) Carriage Obligations.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to the limitations of paragraph
     (2), each satellite carrier providing, under section 122 of
     title 17, United States Code, secondary transmissions to
     subscribers located within the local market of a television
     broadcast station of a primary transmission made by that
     station shall carry upon request the signals of all
     television broadcast stations located within that local
     market, subject to section 325(b).
       ``(2) Remedies for failure to carry.--The remedies for any
     failure to meet the obligations under this subsection shall
     be available exclusively under section 501(f ) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(3) Effective date.--No satellite carrier shall be
     required to carry local television broadcast stations under
     paragraph (1) until January 1, 2002.
       ``(b) Good Signal Required.--
       ``(1) Costs.--A television broadcast station asserting its
     right to carriage under subsection (a) shall be required to
     bear the costs associated with delivering a good quality
     signal to the designated local receive facility of the
     satellite carrier or to another facility that is acceptable
     to at least one-half the stations asserting the right to
     carriage in the local market.
       ``(2) Regulations.--The regulations issued under subsection
     (g) shall set forth the obligations necessary to carry out
     this subsection.
       ``(c) Duplication Not Required.--
       ``(1) Commercial stations.--Notwithstanding subsection (a),
     a satellite carrier shall not be required to carry upon
     request the signal of any local commercial television
     broadcast station that substantially duplicates the signal of
     another local commercial television broadcast station which
     is secondarily transmitted by the satellite carrier within
     the same local market, or to carry upon request the signals
     of more than one local commercial television broadcast
     station in a single local market that is affiliated with a
     particular television network unless such stations are
     licensed to communities in different States.
       ``(2) Noncommercial stations.--The Commission shall
     prescribe regulations limiting the carriage requirements
     under subsection (a) of satellite carriers with respect to
     the carriage of multiple local noncommercial television
     broadcast stations. To the extent possible, such regulations
     shall provide the same degree of carriage by satellite
     carriers of such multiple stations as is provided by cable
     systems under section 615.
       ``(d) Channel Positioning.--No satellite carrier shall be
     required to provide the signal of a local television
     broadcast station to subscribers in that station's local
     market on any particular channel number or to provide the
     signals in any particular order, except that the satellite
     carrier shall retransmit the signal of the local television
     broadcast stations to subscribers in the stations' local
     market on contiguous channels and provide access to such
     station's signals at a nondiscriminatory price and in a
     nondiscriminatory manner on any navigational device, on-
     screen program guide, or menu.
       ``(e) Compensation for Carriage.--A satellite carrier shall
     not accept or request monetary payment or other valuable
     consideration in exchange either for carriage of local
     television broadcast stations in fulfillment of the
     requirements of this section or for channel positioning
     rights provided to such stations under this section, except
     that any such station may be required to bear the costs
     associated with delivering a good quality signal to the local
     receive facility of the satellite carrier.
       ``(f ) Remedies.--
       ``(1) Complaints by broadcast stations.--Whenever a local
     television broadcast station believes that a satellite
     carrier has failed to meet its obligations under subsections
     (b) through (e) of this section, such station shall notify
     the carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and identify
     its reasons for believing that the satellite carrier failed
     to comply with such obligations. The satellite carrier shall,
     within 30 days after such written notification, respond in
     writing to such notification and comply with such obligations
     or state its reasons for believing that it is in compliance
     with such obligations. A local television broadcast station
     that disputes a response by a satellite carrier that it is in
     compliance with such obligations may obtain review of such
     denial or response by filing a complaint with the Commission.
     Such complaint shall allege the manner in which such
     satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations and the
     basis for such allegations.
       ``(2) Opportunity to respond.--The Commission shall afford
     the satellite carrier against which a complaint is filed
     under paragraph (1) an opportunity to present data and
     arguments to establish that there has been no failure to meet
     its obligations under this section.
       ``(3) Remedial actions; dismissal.--Within 120 days after
     the date a complaint is filed under paragraph (1), the
     Commission shall determine whether the satellite carrier has
     met its obligations under subsections (b) through (e). If the
     Commission determines that the satellite carrier has failed
     to meet such obligations, the Commission shall order the
     satellite carrier to take appropriate remedial action. If the
     Commission determines that the satellite carrier has fully
     met the requirements of such subsections, the Commission
     shall dismiss the complaint.
       ``(g) Regulations by Commission.--Within 1 year after the
     date of the enactment of this section, the Commission shall
     issue regulations implementing this section following a
     rulemaking proceeding. The regulations prescribed under this
     section shall include requirements on satellite carriers that
     are comparable to the requirements on cable operators under
     sections 614(b)(3) and (4) and 615(g)(1) and (2).
       ``(h) Definitions.--As used in this section:
       ``(1) Distributor.--The term `distributor' means an entity
     which contracts to distribute secondary transmissions from a
     satellite carrier and, either as a single channel or in a
     package with other programming, provides the secondary
     transmission either directly to individual subscribers or
     indirectly through other program distribution entities.
       ``(2) Local receive facility.--The term `local receive
     facility' means the reception point in each local market
     which a satellite carrier designates for delivery of the
     signal of the station for purposes of retransmission.
       ``(3) Local market.--The term `local market' has the
     meaning given that term under section 122( j) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(4) Satellite carrier.--The term `satellite carrier' has
     the meaning given such term under section 119(d) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(5) Secondary transmission.--The term `secondary
     transmission' has the meaning given

[[Page H12591]]

     such term in section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code.
       ``(6) Subscriber.--The term `subscriber' has the meaning
     given that term under section 122( j) of title 17, United
     States Code.
       ``(7) Television broadcast station.--The term `television
     broadcast station' has the meaning given such term in section
     325(b)(7).

     ``SEC. 339. CARRIAGE OF DISTANT TELEVISION STATIONS BY
                   SATELLITE CARRIERS.

       ``(a) Provisions Relating to Carriage of Distant Signals.--
       ``(1) Carriage permitted.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to section 119 of title 17,
     United States Code, any satellite carrier shall be permitted
     to provide the signals of no more than two network stations
     in a single day for each television network to any household
     not located within the local markets of those network
     stations.
       ``(B) Additional service.--In addition to signals provided
     under subparagraph (A), any satellite carrier may also
     provide service under the statutory license of section 122 of
     title 17, United States Code, to the local market within
     which such household is located. The service provided under
     section 122 of such title may be in addition to the two
     signals provided under section 119 of such title.
       ``(2) Penalty for violation.--Any satellite carrier that
     knowingly and willfully provides the signals of television
     stations to subscribers in violation of this subsection shall
     be liable for a forfeiture penalty under section 503 in the
     amount of $50,000 for each violation or each day of a
     continuing violation.
       ``(b) Extension of Network Nonduplication, Syndicated
     Exclusivity, and Sports Blackout to Satellite
     Retransmission.--
       ``(1) Extension of protections.--Within 45 days after the
     date of the enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer
     Improvement Act of 1999, the Commission shall commence a
     single rulemaking proceeding to establish regulations that--
       ``(A) apply network nonduplication protection (47 CFR
     76.92) syndicated exclusivity protection (47 CFR 76.151), and
     sports blackout protection (47 CFR 76.67) to the
     retransmission of the signals of nationally distributed
     superstations by satellite carriers to subscribers; and
       ``(B) to the extent technically feasible and not
     economically prohibitive, apply sports blackout protection
     (47 CFR 76.67) to the retransmission of the signals of
     network stations by satellite carriers to subscribers.
       ``(2) Deadline for action.--The Commission shall complete
     all actions necessary to prescribe regulations required by
     this section so that the regulations shall become effective
     within 1 year after such date of enactment.
       ``(c) Eligibility for Retransmission.--
       ``(1) Signal standard for satellite carrier purposes.--For
     the purposes of identifying an unserved household under
     section 119(d)(10) of title 17, United States Code, within 1
     year after the date of the enactment of the Satellite Home
     Viewer Improvement Act of 1999, the Commission shall conclude
     an inquiry to evaluate all possible standards and factors for
     determining eligibility for retransmissions of the signals of
     network stations, and, if appropriate--
       ``(A) recommend modifications to the Grade B intensity
     standard for analog signals set forth in section 73.683(a) of
     its regulations (47 CFR 73.683(a)), or recommend alternative
     standards or factors for purposes of determining such
     eligibility; and
       ``(B) make a further recommendation relating to an
     appropriate standard for digital signals.
       ``(2) Waivers.--A subscriber who is denied the
     retransmission of a signal of a network station under section
     119 of title 17, United States Code, may request a waiver
     from such denial by submitting a request, through such
     subscriber's satellite carrier, to the network station
     asserting that the retransmission is prohibited. The
     network station shall accept or reject a subscriber's
     request for a waiver within 30 days after receipt of the
     request. The subscriber shall be permitted to receive such
     retransmission under section 119(d)(10)(B) of title 17,
     United States Code, if such station agrees to the waiver
     request and files with the satellite carrier a written
     waiver with respect to that subscriber allowing the
     subscriber to receive such retransmission. If a television
     network station fails to accept or reject a subscriber's
     request for a waiver within the 30-day period after
     receipt of the request, that station shall be deemed to
     agree to the waiver request and have filed such written
     waiver.
       ``(3) Establishment of improved predictive model
     required.--Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of
     the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999, the
     Commission shall take all actions necessary, including any
     reconsideration, to develop and prescribe by rule a point-to-
     point predictive model for reliably and presumptively
     determining the ability of individual locations to receive
     signals in accordance with the signal intensity standard in
     effect under section 119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United States
     Code. In prescribing such model, the Commission shall rely on
     the Individual Location Longley-Rice model set forth by the
     Federal Communications Commission in Docket No. 98-201 and
     ensure that such model takes into account terrain, building
     structures, and other land cover variations. The Commission
     shall establish procedures for the continued refinement in
     the application of the model by the use of additional data as
     it becomes available.
       ``(4) Objective verification.--
       ``(A) In general.--If a subscriber's request for a waiver
     under paragraph (2) is rejected and the subscriber submits to
     the subscriber's satellite carrier a request for a test
     verifying the subscriber's inability to receive a signal that
     meets the signal intensity standard in effect under section
     119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United States Code, the satellite
     carrier and the network station or stations asserting that
     the retransmission is prohibited with respect to that
     subscriber shall select a qualified and independent person to
     conduct a test in accordance with section 73.686(d) of its
     regulations (47 CFR 73.686(d)), or any successor regulation.
     Such test shall be conducted within 30 days after the date
     the subscriber submits a request for the test. If the written
     findings and conclusions of a test conducted in accordance
     with such section (or any successor regulation) demonstrate
     that the subscriber does not receive a signal that meets or
     exceeds the signal intensity standard in effect under section
     119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United States Code, the subscriber
     shall not be denied the retransmission of a signal of a
     network station under section 119 of title 17, United States
     Code.
       ``(B) Designation of tester and allocation of costs.--If
     the satellite carrier and the network station or stations
     asserting that the retransmission is prohibited are unable to
     agree on such a person to conduct the test, the person shall
     be designated by an independent and neutral entity designated
     by the Commission by rule. Unless the satellite carrier and
     the network station or stations otherwise agree, the costs of
     conducting the test under this paragraph shall be borne by
     the satellite carrier, if the station's signal meets or
     exceeds the signal intensity standard in effect under section
     119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United States Code, or by the
     network station, if its signal fails to meet or exceed such
     standard.
       ``(C) Avoidance of undue burden.-- Commission regulations
     prescribed under this paragraph shall seek to avoid any undue
     burden on any party.
       ``(d) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
       ``(1) Local market.--The term `local market' has the
     meaning given that term under section 122( j) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(2) Nationally distributed superstation.--The term
     `nationally distributed superstation' means a television
     broadcast station, licensed by the Commission, that--
       ``(A) is not owned or operated by or affiliated with a
     television network that, as of January 1, 1995, offered
     interconnected program service on a regular basis for 15 or
     more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated television
     licensees in 10 or more States;
       ``(B) on May 1, 1991, was retransmitted by a satellite
     carrier and was not a network station at that time; and
       ``(C) was, as of July 1, 1998, retransmitted by a satellite
     carrier under the statutory license of section 119 of title
     17, United States Code.
       ``(3) Network station.--The term `network station' has the
     meaning given such term under section 119(d) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(4) Satellite carrier.--The term `satellite carrier' has
     the meaning given such term under section 119(d) of title 17,
     United States Code.
       ``(5) Television network.--The term `television network'
     means a television network in the United States which offers
     an interconnected program service on a regular basis for 15
     or more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated broadcast
     stations in 10 or more States.''.
       (b) Network Station Definition.--Section 119(d)(2) of title
     17, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking the period and
     inserting a semicolon; and
       (2) by adding after subparagraph (B) the following:
     ``except that the term does not include the signal of the
     Alaska Rural Communications Service, or any successor entity
     to that service.''.

     SEC. 1009. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.

       (a) In General.--Section 325(b) of the Communications Act
     of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--
       (1) by amending paragraphs (1) and (2) to read as follows:
       ``(b)(1) No cable system or other multichannel video
     programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a
     broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except--
       ``(A) with the express authority of the originating
     station;
       ``(B) under section 614, in the case of a station electing,
     in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to
     carriage under such section; or
       ``(C) under section 338, in the case of a station electing,
     in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to
     carriage under such section.
       ``(2) This subsection shall not apply--
       ``(A) to retransmission of the signal of a noncommercial
     television broadcast station;
       ``(B) to retransmission of the signal of a television
     broadcast station outside the station's local market by a
     satellite carrier directly to its subscribers, if--
       ``(i) such station was a superstation on May 1, 1991;
       ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted
     by a satellite carrier under the statutory license of section
     119 of title 17, United States Code; and
       ``(iii) the satellite carrier complies with any network
     nonduplication, syndicated exclusivity, and sports blackout
     rules adopted by the Commission under section 339(b) of this
     Act;
       ``(C) until December 31, 2004, to retransmission of the
     signals of network stations directly to a home satellite
     antenna, if the subscriber receiving the signal--
       ``(i) is located in an area outside the local market of
     such stations; and
       ``(ii) resides in an unserved household;
       ``(D) to retransmission by a cable operator or other
     multichannel video provider, other than a satellite carrier,
     of the signal of a television broadcast station outside the
     station's local market if such signal was obtained from a
     satellite carrier and--
       ``(i) the originating station was a superstation on May 1,
     1991; and
       ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted
     by a satellite carrier under the statutory license of section
     119 of title 17, United States Code; or

[[Page H12592]]

       ``(E) during the 6-month period beginning on the date of
     the enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of
     1999, to the retransmission of the signal of a television
     broadcast station within the station's local market by a
     satellite carrier directly to its subscribers under the
     statutory license of section 122 of title 17, United States
     Code.
     For purposes of this paragraph, the terms `satellite carrier'
     and `superstation' have the meanings given those terms,
     respectively, in section 119(d) of title 17, United States
     Code, as in effect on the date of the enactment of the Cable
     Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992,
     the term `unserved household' has the meaning given that term
     under section 119(d) of such title, and the term `local
     market' has the meaning given that term in section 122( j) of
     such title.'';
       (2) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the following new
     subparagraph:
       ``(C) Within 45 days after the date of the enactment of the
     Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999, the Commission
     shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to revise the
     regulations governing the exercise by television broadcast
     stations of the right to grant retransmission consent under
     this subsection, and such other regulations as are necessary
     to administer the limitations contained in paragraph (2). The
     Commission shall complete all actions necessary to prescribe
     such regulations within 1 year after such date of enactment.
     Such regulations shall--
       ``(i) establish election time periods that correspond with
     those regulations adopted under subparagraph (B) of this
     paragraph; and
       ``(ii) until January 1, 2006, prohibit a television
     broadcast station that provides retransmission consent from
     engaging in exclusive contracts for carriage or failing to
     negotiate in good faith, and it shall not be a failure to
     negotiate in good faith if the television broadcast station
     enters into retransmission consent agreements containing
     different terms and conditions, including price terms, with
     different multichannel video programming distributors if such
     different terms and conditions are based on competitive
     marketplace considerations.'';
       (3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following
     new sentence: ``If an originating television station elects
     under paragraph (3)(C) to exercise its right to grant
     retransmission consent under this subsection with respect to
     a satellite carrier, section 338 shall not apply to the
     carriage of the signal of such station by such satellite
     carrier.'';
       (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ``614 or 615'' and
     inserting ``338, 614, or 615''; and
       (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term--
       ``(A) `network station' has the meaning given such term
     under section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code; and
       ``(B) `television broadcast station' means an over-the-air
     commercial or noncommercial television broadcast station
     licensed by the Commission under subpart E of part 73 of
     title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, except that such term
     does not include a low-power or translator television
     station.''.
       (b) Enforcement Provisions for Consent for
     Retransmissions.--Section 325 of the Communications Act of
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 325) is amended by adding at the end the
     following new subsection:
       ``(e) Enforcement Proceedings Against Satellite Carriers
     Concerning Retransmissions of Television Broadcast Stations
     in the Respective Local Markets of Such Carriers.--
       ``(1) Complaints by television broadcast stations.--If
     after the expiration of the 6-month period described under
     subsection (b)(2)(E) a television broadcast station believes
     that a satellite carrier has retransmitted its signal to any
     person in the local market of such station in violation of
     subsection (b)(1), the station may file with the Commission a
     complaint providing--
       ``(A) the name, address, and call letters of the station;
       ``(B) the name and address of the satellite carrier;
       ``(C) the dates on which the alleged retransmission
     occurred;
       ``(D) the street address of at least one person in the
     local market of the station to whom the alleged
     retransmission was made;
       ``(E) a statement that the retransmission was not expressly
     authorized by the television broadcast station; and
       ``(F) the name and address of counsel for the station.
       ``(2) Service of complaints on satellite carriers.--For
     purposes of any proceeding under this subsection, any
     satellite carrier that retransmits the signal of any
     broadcast station shall be deemed to designate the Secretary
     of the Commission as its agent for service of process. A
     television broadcast station may serve a satellite carrier
     with a complaint concerning an alleged violation of
     subsection (b)(1) through retransmission of a station within
     the local market of such station by filing the original and
     two copies of the complaint with the Secretary of the
     Commission and serving a copy of the complaint on the
     satellite carrier by means of two commonly used overnight
     delivery services, each addressed to the chief executive
     officer of the satellite carrier at its principal place of
     business, and each marked `URGENT LITIGATION MATTER' on the
     outer packaging. Service shall be deemed complete one
     business day after a copy of the complaint is provided to the
     delivery services for overnight delivery. On receipt of a
     complaint filed by a television broadcast station under this
     subsection, the Secretary of the Commission shall send the
     original complaint by United States mail, postage prepaid,
     receipt requested, addressed to the chief executive officer
     of the satellite carrier at its principal place of business.
       ``(3) Answers by satellite carriers.--Within five business
     days after the date of service, the satellite carrier shall
     file an answer with the Commission and shall serve the answer
     by a commonly used overnight delivery service and by United
     States mail, on the counsel designated in the complaint at
     the address listed for such counsel in the complaint.
       ``(4) Defenses.--
       ``(A) Exclusive defenses.--The defenses under this
     paragraph are the exclusive defenses available to a satellite
     carrier against which a complaint under this subsection is
     filed.
       ``(B) Defenses.--The defenses referred to under
     subparagraph (A) are the defenses that--
       ``(i) the satellite carrier did not retransmit the
     television broadcast station to any person in the local
     market of the station during the time period specified in the
     complaint;
       ``(ii) the television broadcast station had, in a writing
     signed by an officer of the television broadcast station,
     expressly authorized the retransmission of the station by
     the satellite carrier to each person in the local market
     of the television broadcast station to which the satellite
     carrier made such retransmissions for the entire time
     period during which it is alleged that a violation of
     subsection (b)(1) has occurred;
       ``(iii) the retransmission was made after January 1, 2002,
     and the television broadcast station had elected to assert
     the right to carriage under section 338 as against the
     satellite carrier for the relevant period; or
       ``(iv) the station being retransmitted is a noncommercial
     television broadcast station.
       ``(5) Counting of violations.--The retransmission without
     consent of a particular television broadcast station on a
     particular day to one or more persons in the local market of
     the station shall be considered a separate violation of
     subsection (b)(1).
       ``(6) Burden of proof.--With respect to each alleged
     violation, the burden of proof shall be on a television
     broadcast station to establish that the satellite carrier
     retransmitted the station to at least one person in the local
     market of the station on the day in question. The burden of
     proof shall be on the satellite carrier with respect to all
     defenses other than the defense under paragraph (4)(B)(i).
       ``(7) Procedures.--
       ``(A) Regulations.--Within 60 days after the date of the
     enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of
     1999, the Commission shall issue procedural regulations
     implementing this subsection which shall supersede procedures
     under section 312.
       ``(B) Determinations.--
       ``(i) In general.--Within 45 days after the filing of a
     complaint, the Commission shall issue a final determination
     in any proceeding brought under this subsection. The
     Commission's final determination shall specify the number of
     violations committed by the satellite carrier. The Commission
     shall hear witnesses only if it clearly appears, based on
     written filings by the parties, that there is a genuine
     dispute about material facts. Except as provided in the
     preceding sentence, the Commission may issue a final ruling
     based on written filings by the parties.
       ``(ii) Discovery.--The Commission may direct the parties to
     exchange pertinent documents, and if necessary to take
     prehearing depositions, on such schedule as the Commission
     may approve, but only if the Commission first determines that
     such discovery is necessary to resolve a genuine dispute
     about material facts, consistent with the obligation to make
     a final determination within 45 days.
       ``(8) Relief.--If the Commission determines that a
     satellite carrier has retransmitted the television broadcast
     station to at least one person in the local market of such
     station and has failed to meet its burden of proving one of
     the defenses under paragraph (4) with respect to such
     retransmission, the Commission shall be required to--
       ``(A) make a finding that the satellite carrier violated
     subsection (b)(1) with respect to that station; and
       ``(B) issue an order, within 45 days after the filing of
     the complaint, containing--
       ``(i) a cease-and-desist order directing the satellite
     carrier immediately to stop making any further
     retransmissions of the television broadcast station to any
     person within the local market of such station until such
     time as the Commission determines that the satellite carrier
     is in compliance with subsection (b)(1) with respect to such
     station;
       ``(ii) if the satellite carrier is found to have violated
     subsection (b)(1) with respect to more than two television
     broadcast stations, a cease-and-desist order directing the
     satellite carrier to stop making any further retransmission
     of any television broadcast station to any person within the
     local market of such station, until such time as the
     Commission, after giving notice to the station, that the
     satellite carrier is in compliance with subsection (b)(1)
     with respect to such stations; and
       ``(iii) an award to the complainant of that complainant's
     costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
       ``(9) Court proceedings on enforcement of commission
     order.--
       ``(A) In general.--On entry by the Commission of a final
     order granting relief under this subsection--
       ``(i) a television broadcast station may apply within 30
     days after such entry to the United States District Court for
     the Eastern District of Virginia for a final judgment
     enforcing all relief granted by the Commission; and
       ``(ii) the satellite carrier may apply within 30 days after
     such entry to the United States District Court for the
     Eastern District of Virginia for a judgment reversing the
     Commission's order.

[[Page H12593]]

       ``(B) Appeal.--The procedure for an appeal under this
     paragraph by the satellite carrier shall supersede any other
     appeal rights under Federal or State law. A United States
     district court shall be deemed to have personal jurisdiction
     over the satellite carrier if the carrier, or a company under
     common control with the satellite carrier, has delivered
     television programming by satellite to more than 30 customers
     in that district during the preceding 4-year period. If the
     United States District Court for the Eastern District of
     Virginia does not have personal jurisdiction over the
     satellite carrier, an enforcement action or appeal shall be
     brought in the United States District Court for the District
     of Columbia, which may find personal jurisdiction based on
     the satellite carrier's ownership of licenses issued by the
     Commission. An application by a television broadcast station
     for an order enforcing any cease-and-desist relief granted by
     the Commission shall be resolved on a highly expedited
     schedule. No discovery may be conducted by the parties in any
     such proceeding. The district court shall enforce the
     Commission order unless the Commission record reflects
     manifest error and an abuse of discretion by the Commission.
       ``(10) Civil action for statutory damages.--Within 6 months
     after issuance of an order by the Commission under this
     subsection, a television broadcast station may file a civil
     action in any United States district court that has personal
     jurisdiction over the satellite carrier for an award of
     statutory damages for any violation that the Commission has
     determined to have been committed by a satellite carrier
     under this subsection. Such action shall not be subject to
     transfer under section 1404(a) of title 28, United States
     Code. On finding that the satellite carrier has committed one
     or more violations of subsection (b), the District Court
     shall be required to award the television broadcast station
     statutory damages of $25,000 per violation, in accordance
     with paragraph (5), and the costs and attorney's fees
     incurred by the station. Such statutory damages shall be
     awarded only if the television broadcast station has filed a
     binding stipulation with the court that such station will
     donate the full amount in excess of $1,000 of any statutory
     damage award to the United States Treasury for public
     purposes. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
     station shall incur no tax liability of any kind with respect
     to any amounts so donated. Discovery may be conducted by the
     parties in any proceeding under this paragraph only if and to
     the extent necessary to resolve a genuinely disputed issue of
     fact concerning one of the defenses under paragraph (4). In
     any such action, the defenses under paragraph (4) shall be
     exclusive, and the burden of proof shall be on the satellite
     carrier with respect to all defenses other than the defense
     under paragraph (4)(B)(i). A judgment under this paragraph
     may be enforced in any manner permissible under Federal or
     State law.
       ``(11) Appeals.--
       ``(A) In general.--The nonprevailing party before a United
     States district court may appeal a decision under this
     subsection to the United States Court of Appeals with
     jurisdiction over that district court. The Court of Appeals
     shall not issue any stay of the effectiveness of any decision
     granting relief against a satellite carrier unless the
     carrier presents clear and convincing evidence that it is
     highly likely to prevail on appeal and only after posting a
     bond for the full amount of any monetary award assessed
     against it and for such further amount as the Court of
     Appeals may believe appropriate.
       ``(B) Appeal.--If the Commission denies relief in response
     to a complaint filed by a television broadcast station under
     this subsection, the television broadcast station filing the
     complaint may file an appeal with the United States Court of
     Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
       ``(12) Sunset.--No complaint or civil action may be filed
     under this subsection after December 31, 2001. This
     subsection shall continue to apply to any complaint or civil
     action filed on or before such date.''.

     SEC. 1010. SEVERABILITY.

       If any provision of section 325(b) of the Communications
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)), or the application of that
     provision to any person or circumstance, is held by a court
     of competent jurisdiction to violate any provision of the
     Constitution of the United States, then the other provisions
     of that section, and the application of that provision to
     other persons and circumstances, shall not be affected.

     SEC. 1011. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Technical Amendments Relating to Cable Systems.--Title
     17, United States Code, is amended as follows:
       (1) Such title is amended by striking ``programing'' each
     place it appears and inserting ``programming''.
       (2) Section 111 is amended by striking ``compulsory'' each
     place it appears and inserting ``statutory''.
       (3) Section 510(b) is amended by striking ``compulsory''
     and inserting ``statutory''.
       (b) Technical Amendments Relating to Performance or
     Displays Of Works.--
       (1) Section 111 of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph
     (1), by striking ``primary transmission embodying a
     performance or display of a work'' and inserting
     ``performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission'';
       (B) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
     (1), by striking ``primary transmission embodying a
     performance or display of a work'' and inserting
     ``performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission''; and
       (C) in subsection (c)--
       (i) in paragraph (1)--

       (I) by inserting ``a performance or display of a work
     embodied in'' after ``by a cable system of''; and
       (II) by striking ``and embodying a performance or display
     of a work''; and

       (ii) in paragraphs (3) and (4)--

       (I) by striking ``a primary transmission'' and inserting
     ``a performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission''; and
       (II) by striking ``and embodying a performance or display
     of a work''.

       (2) Section 119(a) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``primary transmission
     made by a superstation and embodying a performance or display
     of a work'' and inserting ``performance or display of a work
     embodied in a primary transmission made by a superstation'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``programming'' and
     all that follows through ``a work'' and inserting ``a
     performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission made by a network station'';
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by inserting ``a performance or display of a work
     embodied in'' after ``by a satellite carrier of''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and embodying a performance or display
     of a work''; and
       (D) in paragraph (6)--
       (i) by inserting ``performance or display of a work
     embodied in'' after ``by a satellite carrier of''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and embodying a performance or display
     of a work''.
       (3) Section 501(e) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``primary transmission embodying the
     performance or display of a work'' and inserting
     ``performance or display of a work embodied in a primary
     transmission''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 119(a)(2)(C) of title
     17, United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by
     striking ``currently''.
       (d) Work Made for Hire.--Section 101 of title 17, United
     States Code, is amended in the definition relating to work
     for hire in paragraph (2) by inserting ``as a sound
     recording,'' after ``audiovisual work''.

     SEC. 1012. EFFECTIVE DATES.

       Sections 1001, 1003, 1005, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, and 1011
     (and the amendments made by such sections) shall take effect
     on the date of the enactment of this Act. The amendments made
     by sections 1002, 1004, and 1006 shall be effective as of
     July 1, 1999.

                TITLE II--RURAL LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS

     SEC. 2001. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Rural Local Broadcast
     Signal Act''.

     SEC. 2002. LOCAL TELEVISION SERVICE IN UNSERVED AND
                   UNDERSERVED MARKETS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
     the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications
     Commission (``the Commission'') shall take all actions
     necessary to make a determination regarding licenses or other
     authorizations for facilities that will utilize, for
     delivering local broadcast television station signals to
     satellite television subscribers in unserved and underserved
     local television markets, spectrum otherwise allocated to
     commercial use.
       (b) Rules.--
       (1) Form of business.--To the extent not inconsistent with
     the Communications Act of 1934 and the Commission's rules,
     the Commission shall permit applicants under subsection (a)
     to engage in partnerships, joint ventures, and similar
     operating arrangements for the purpose of carrying out
     subsection (a).
       (2) Harmful interference.--The Commission shall ensure that
     no facility licensed or authorized under subsection (a)
     causes harmful interference to the primary users of that
     spectrum or to public safety spectrum use.
       (3) Limitation on commission.--Except as provided in
     paragraphs (1) and (2), the Commission may not restrict any
     entity granted a license or other authorization under
     subsection (a) from using any reasonable compression,
     reformatting, or other technology.
       (c) Report.--Not later than January 1, 2001, the Commission
     shall report to the Agriculture, Appropriations, and the
     Judiciary Committees of the Senate and the House of
     Representatives, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
     and Transportation, and the House of Representatives
     Committee on Commerce, on the extent to which licenses and
     other authorizations under subsection (a) have facilitated
     the delivery of local signals to satellite television
     subscribers in unserved and underserved local television
     markets. The report shall include--
       (1) an analysis of the extent to which local signals are
     being provided by direct-to-home satellite television
     providers and by other multichannel video program
     distributors;
       (2) an enumeration of the technical, economic, and other
     impediments each type of multichannel video programming
     distributor has encountered; and
       (3) recommendations for specific measures to facilitate the
     provision of local signals to subscribers in unserved and
     underserved markets by direct-to-home satellite television
     providers and by other distributors of multichannel video
     programming service.

              TITLE III--TRADEMARK CYBERPIRACY PREVENTION

     SEC. 3001. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

       (a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the
     ``Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act''.
       (b) References to the Trademark Act of 1946.--Any reference
     in this title to the Trademark Act of 1946 shall be a
     reference to the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the
     registration

[[Page H12594]]

     and protection of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out
     the provisions of certain international conventions, and for
     other purposes'', approved July 5, 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051 et
     seq.).

     SEC. 3002. CYBERPIRACY PREVENTION.

       (a) In General.--Section 43 of the Trademark Act of 1946
     (15 U.S.C. 1125) is amended by inserting at the end the
     following:
       ``(d)(1)(A) A person shall be liable in a civil action by
     the owner of a mark, including a personal name which is
     protected as a mark under this section, if, without regard to
     the goods or services of the parties, that person--
       ``(i) has a bad faith intent to profit from that mark,
     including a personal name which is protected as a mark under
     this section; and
       ``(ii) registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that--
       ``(I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time
     of registration of the domain name, is identical or
     confusingly similar to that mark;
       ``(II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the
     time of registration of the domain name, is identical or
     confusingly similar to or dilutive of that mark; or
       ``(III) is a trademark, word, or name protected by reason
     of section 706 of title 18, United States Code, or section
     220506 of title 36, United States Code.
       ``(B)(i) In determining whether a person has a bad faith
     intent described under subparagraph (A), a court may consider
     factors such as, but not limited to--
       ``(I) the trademark or other intellectual property rights
     of the person, if any, in the domain name;
       ``(II) the extent to which the domain name consists of the
     legal name of the person or a name that is otherwise commonly
     used to identify that person;
       ``(III) the person's prior use, if any, of the domain name
     in connection with the bona fide offering of any goods or
     services;
       ``(IV) the person's bona fide noncommercial or fair use of
     the mark in a site accessible under the domain name;
       ``(V) the person's intent to divert consumers from the mark
     owner's online location to a site accessible under the domain
     name that could harm the goodwill represented by the mark,
     either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or
     disparage the mark, by creating a likelihood of confusion as
     to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of
     the site;
       ``(VI) the person's offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise
     assign the domain name to the mark owner or any third party
     for financial gain without having used, or having an intent
     to use, the domain name in the bona fide offering of any
     goods or services, or the person's prior conduct indicating a
     pattern of such conduct;
       ``(VII) the person's provision of material and misleading
     false contact information when applying for the registration
     of the domain name, the person's intentional failure to
     maintain accurate contact information, or the person's prior
     conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct;
       ``(VIII) the person's registration or acquisition of
     multiple domain names which the person knows are identical or
     confusingly similar to marks of others that are distinctive
     at the time of registration of such domain names, or dilutive
     of famous marks of others that are famous at the time of
     registration of such domain names, without regard to the
     goods or services of the parties; and
       ``(IX) the extent to which the mark incorporated in the
     person's domain name registration is or is not distinctive
     and famous within the meaning of subsection (c)(1) of section
     43.
       ``(ii) Bad faith intent described under subparagraph (A)
     shall not be found in any case in which the court determines
     that the person believed and had reasonable grounds to
     believe that the use of the domain name was a fair use or
     otherwise lawful.
       ``(C) In any civil action involving the registration,
     trafficking, or use of a domain name under this paragraph, a
     court may order the forfeiture or cancellation of the domain
     name or the transfer of the domain name to the owner of the
     mark.
       ``(D) A person shall be liable for using a domain name
     under subparagraph (A) only if that person is the domain name
     registrant or that registrant's authorized licensee.
       ``(E) As used in this paragraph, the term `traffics in'
     refers to transactions that include, but are not limited to,
     sales, purchases, loans, pledges, licenses, exchanges of
     currency, and any other transfer for consideration or receipt
     in exchange for consideration.
       ``(2)(A) The owner of a mark may file an in rem civil
     action against a domain name in the judicial district in
     which the domain name registrar, domain name registry, or
     other domain name authority that registered or assigned the
     domain name is located if--
       ``(i) the domain name violates any right of the owner of a
     mark registered in the Patent and Trademark Office, or
     protected under subsection (a) or (c); and
       ``(ii) the court finds that the owner--
       ``(I) is not able to obtain in personam jurisdiction over a
     person who would have been a defendant in a civil action
     under paragraph (1); or
       ``(II) through due diligence was not able to find a person
     who would have been a defendant in a civil action under
     paragraph (1) by--
       ``(aa) sending a notice of the alleged violation and intent
     to proceed under this paragraph to the registrant of the
     domain name at the postal and e-mail address provided by the
     registrant to the registrar; and
       ``(bb) publishing notice of the action as the court may
     direct promptly after filing the action.
       ``(B) The actions under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall
     constitute service of process.
       ``(C) In an in rem action under this paragraph, a domain
     name shall be deemed to have its situs in the judicial
     district in which--
       ``(i) the domain name registrar, registry, or other domain
     name authority that registered or assigned the domain name is
     located; or
       ``(ii) documents sufficient to establish control and
     authority regarding the disposition of the registration and
     use of the domain name are deposited with the court.
       ``(D)(i) The remedies in an in rem action under this
     paragraph shall be limited to a court order for the
     forfeiture or cancellation of the domain name or the transfer
     of the domain name to the owner of the mark. Upon receipt of
     written notification of a filed, stamped copy of a complaint
     filed by the owner of a mark in a United States district
     court under this paragraph, the domain name registrar, domain
     name registry, or other domain name authority shall--
       ``(I) expeditiously deposit with the court documents
     sufficient to establish the court's control and authority
     regarding the disposition of the registration and use of the
     domain name to the court; and
       ``(II) not transfer, suspend, or otherwise modify the
     domain name during the pendency of the action, except upon
     order of the court.
       ``(ii) The domain name registrar or registry or other
     domain name authority shall not be liable for injunctive or
     monetary relief under this paragraph except in the case of
     bad faith or reckless disregard, which includes a willful
     failure to comply with any such court order.
       ``(3) The civil action established under paragraph (1) and
     the in rem action established under paragraph (2), and any
     remedy available under either such action, shall be in
     addition to any other civil action or remedy otherwise
     applicable.
       ``(4) The in rem jurisdiction established under paragraph
     (2) shall be in addition to any other jurisdiction that
     otherwise exists, whether in rem or in personam.''.
       (b) Cyberpiracy Protections for Individuals.--
       (1) In general.--
       (A) Civil liability.--Any person who registers a domain
     name that consists of the name of another living person, or a
     name substantially and confusingly similar thereto, without
     that person's consent, with the specific intent to profit
     from such name by selling the domain name for financial gain
     to that person or any third party, shall be liable in a civil
     action by such person.
       (B) Exception.--A person who in good faith registers a
     domain name consisting of the name of another living person,
     or a name substantially and confusingly similar thereto,
     shall not be liable under this paragraph if such name is used
     in, affiliated with, or related to a work of authorship
     protected under title 17, United States Code, including a
     work made for hire as defined in section 101 of title 17,
     United States Code, and if the person registering the domain
     name is the copyright owner or licensee of the work, the
     person intends to sell the domain name in conjunction with
     the lawful exploitation of the work, and such registration is
     not prohibited by a contract between the registrant and the
     named person. The exception under this subparagraph shall
     apply only to a civil action brought under paragraph (1) and
     shall in no manner limit the protections afforded under the
     Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) or other
     provision of Federal or State law.
       (2) Remedies.--In any civil action brought under paragraph
     (1), a court may award injunctive relief, including the
     forfeiture or cancellation of the domain name or the transfer
     of the domain name to the plaintiff. The court may also, in
     its discretion, award costs and attorneys fees to the
     prevailing party.
       (3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``domain
     name'' has the meaning given that term in section 45 of the
     Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1127).
       (4) Effective date.--This subsection shall apply to domain
     names registered on or after the date of the enactment of
     this Act.

     SEC. 3003. DAMAGES AND REMEDIES.

       (a) Remedies in Cases of Domain Name Piracy.--
       (1) Injunctions.--Section 34(a) of the Trademark Act of
     1946 (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)) is amended in the first sentence by
     striking ``(a) or (c)'' and inserting ``(a), (c), or (d)''.
       (2) Damages.--Section 35(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946
     (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)) is amended in the first sentence by
     inserting ``, (c), or (d)'' after ``section 43(a)''.
       (b) Statutory Damages.--Section 35 of the Trademark Act of
     1946 (15 U.S.C. 1117) is amended by adding at the end the
     following:
       ``(d) In a case involving a violation of section 43(d)(1),
     the plaintiff may elect, at any time before final judgment is
     rendered by the trial court, to recover, instead of actual
     damages and profits, an award of statutory damages in the
     amount of not less than $1,000 and not more than $100,000
     per domain name, as the court considers just.

     SEC. 3004. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.

       Section 32(2) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1114)
     is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking
     ``under section 43(a)'' and inserting ``under section 43(a)
     or (d)''; and
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E)
     and inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D)(i)(I) A domain name registrar, a domain name
     registry, or other domain name registration authority that
     takes any action described under clause (ii) affecting a
     domain name shall not be liable for monetary relief or,
     except as provided in subclause (II), for injunctive relief,
     to any person for such action, regardless of whether the
     domain name is finally determined to infringe or dilute the
     mark.
       ``(II) A domain name registrar, domain name registry, or
     other domain name registration authority described in
     subclause (I) may be subject

[[Page H12595]]

     to injunctive relief only if such registrar, registry, or
     other registration authority has--
       ``(aa) not expeditiously deposited with a court, in which
     an action has been filed regarding the disposition of the
     domain name, documents sufficient for the court to establish
     the court's control and authority regarding the disposition
     of the registration and use of the domain name;
       ``(bb) transferred, suspended, or otherwise modified the
     domain name during the pendency of the action, except upon
     order of the court; or
       ``(cc) willfully failed to comply with any such court
     order.
       ``(ii) An action referred to under clause (i)(I) is any
     action of refusing to register, removing from registration,
     transferring, temporarily disabling, or permanently canceling
     a domain name--
       ``(I) in compliance with a court order under section 43(d);
     or
       ``(II) in the implementation of a reasonable policy by such
     registrar, registry, or authority prohibiting the
     registration of a domain name that is identical to,
     confusingly similar to, or dilutive of another's mark.
       ``(iii) A domain name registrar, a domain name registry, or
     other domain name registration authority shall not be liable
     for damages under this section for the registration or
     maintenance of a domain name for another absent a showing of
     bad faith intent to profit from such registration or
     maintenance of the domain name.
       ``(iv) If a registrar, registry, or other registration
     authority takes an action described under clause (ii) based
     on a knowing and material misrepresentation by any other
     person that a domain name is identical to, confusingly
     similar to, or dilutive of a mark, the person making the
     knowing and material misrepresentation shall be liable for
     any damages, including costs and attorney's fees, incurred by
     the domain name registrant as a result of such action. The
     court may also grant injunctive relief to the domain name
     registrant, including the reactivation of the domain name or
     the transfer of the domain name to the domain name
     registrant.
       ``(v) A domain name registrant whose domain name has been
     suspended, disabled, or transferred under a policy described
     under clause (ii)(II) may, upon notice to the mark owner,
     file a civil action to establish that the registration or use
     of the domain name by such registrant is not unlawful under
     this Act. The court may grant injunctive relief to the domain
     name registrant, including the reactivation of the domain
     name or transfer of the domain name to the domain name
     registrant.''.

     SEC. 3005. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 45 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1127) is
     amended by inserting after the undesignated paragraph
     defining the term ``counterfeit'' the following:
       ``The term `domain name' means any alphanumeric designation
     which is registered with or assigned by any domain name
     registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name
     registration authority as part of an electronic address on
     the Internet.
       ``The term `Internet' has the meaning given that term in
     section 230(f )(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
     U.S.C. 230(f )(1)).''.

     SEC. 3006. STUDY ON ABUSIVE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS
                   INVOLVING PERSONAL NAMES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in
     consultation with the Patent and Trademark Office and the
     Federal Election Commission, shall conduct a study and report
     to Congress with recommendations on guidelines and procedures
     for resolving disputes involving the registration or use by a
     person of a domain name that includes the personal name of
     another person, in whole or in part, or a name confusingly
     similar thereto, including consideration of and
     recommendations for--
       (1) protecting personal names from registration by another
     person as a second level domain name for purposes of selling
     or otherwise transferring such domain name to such other
     person or any third party for financial gain;
       (2) protecting individuals from bad faith uses of their
     personal names as second level domain names by others with
     malicious intent to harm the reputation of the individual or
     the goodwill associated with that individual's name;
       (3) protecting consumers from the registration and use of
     domain names that include personal names in the second level
     domain in manners which are intended or are likely to confuse
     or deceive the public as to the affiliation, connection, or
     association of the domain name registrant, or a site
     accessible under the domain name, with such other person, or
     as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of the goods,
     services, or commercial activities of the domain name
     registrant;
       (4) protecting the public from registration of domain names
     that include the personal names of government officials,
     official candidates, and potential official candidates for
     Federal, State, or local political office in the United
     States, and the use of such domain names in a manner that
     disrupts the electoral process or the public's ability to
     access accurate and reliable information regarding such
     individuals;
       (5) existing remedies, whether under State law or
     otherwise, and the extent to which such remedies are
     sufficient to address the considerations described in
     paragraphs (1) through (4); and
       (6) the guidelines, procedures, and policies of the
     Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the
     extent to which they address the considerations described in
     paragraphs (1) through (4).
       (b) Guidelines and Procedures.--The Secretary of Commerce
     shall, under its Memorandum of Understanding with the
     Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers,
     collaborate to develop guidelines and procedures for
     resolving disputes involving the registration or use by a
     person of a domain name that includes the personal name of
     another person, in whole or in part, or a name confusingly
     similar thereto.

     SEC. 3007. HISTORIC PRESERVATION.

       Section 101(a)(1)(A) of the National Historic Preservation
     Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(a)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end
     the following: ``Notwithstanding section 43(c) of the Act
     entitled `An Act to provide for the registration and
     protection of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out the
     provisions of certain international conventions, and for
     other purposes', approved July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the
     `Trademark Act of 1946' (15 U.S.C. 1125(c))), buildings and
     structures on or eligible for inclusion on the National
     Register of Historic Places (either individually or as part
     of a historic district), or designated as an individual
     landmark or as a contributing building in a historic district
     by a unit of State or local government, may retain the name
     historically associated with the building or structure.''.

     SEC. 3008. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

       Nothing in this title shall affect any defense available to
     a defendant under the Trademark Act of 1946 (including any
     defense under section 43(c)(4) of such Act or relating to
     fair use) or a person's right of free speech or expression
     under the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

     SEC. 3009. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended as
     follows:
       (1) Section 1338 of title 28, United States Codes, is
     amended--
       (A) in the section heading by striking ``trade-marks'' and
     inserting ``trademarks'';
       (B) in subsection (a) by striking ``trade-marks'' and
     inserting ``trademarks''; and
       (C) in subsection (b) by striking ``trade-mark'' and
     inserting ``trademark''.
       (2) The item relating to section 1338 in the table of
     sections for chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``trade-marks'' and inserting
     ``trademarks''.

     SEC. 3010. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Sections 3002(a), 3003, 3004, 3005, and 3008 of this title
     shall apply to all domain names registered before, on, or
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that
     damages under subsection (a) or (d) of section 35 of the
     Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1117), as amended by section
     3003 of this title, shall not be available with respect to
     the registration, trafficking, or use of a domain name that
     occurs before the date of the enactment of this Act.

                     TITLE IV--INVENTOR PROTECTION

     SEC. 4001. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``American Inventors
     Protection Act of 1999''.

                     Subtitle A--Inventors' Rights

     SEC. 4101. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Inventors' Rights Act
     of 1999''.

     SEC. 4102. INTEGRITY IN INVENTION PROMOTION SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 29 of title 35, United States
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
     section:

     ``Sec. 297. Improper and deceptive invention promotion

       ``(a) In General.--An invention promoter shall have a duty
     to disclose the following information to a customer in
     writing, prior to entering into a contract for invention
     promotion services:
       ``(1) the total number of inventions evaluated by the
     invention promoter for commercial potential in the past 5
     years, as well as the number of those inventions that
     received positive evaluations, and the number of those
     inventions that received negative evaluations;
       ``(2) the total number of customers who have contracted
     with the invention promoter in the past 5 years, not
     including customers who have purchased trade show services,
     research, advertising, or other nonmarketing services from
     the invention promoter, or who have defaulted in their
     payment to the invention promoter;
       ``(3) the total number of customers known by the invention
     promoter to have received a net financial profit as a direct
     result of the invention promotion services provided by such
     invention promoter;
       ``(4) the total number of customers known by the invention
     promoter to have received license agreements for their
     inventions as a direct result of the invention promotion
     services provided by such invention promoter; and
       ``(5) the names and addresses of all previous invention
     promotion companies with which the invention promoter or its
     officers have collectively or individually been affiliated in
     the previous 10 years.
       ``(b) Civil Action.--(1) Any customer who enters into a
     contract with an invention promoter and who is found by a
     court to have been injured by any material false or
     fraudulent statement or representation, or any omission of
     material fact, by that invention promoter (or any agent,
     employee, director, officer, partner, or independent
     contractor of such invention promoter), or by the failure of
     that invention promoter to disclose such information as
     required under subsection (a), may recover in a civil action
     against the invention promoter (or the officers, directors,
     or partners of such invention promoter), in addition to
     reasonable costs and attorneys' fees--
       ``(A) the amount of actual damages incurred by the
     customer; or
       ``(B) at the election of the customer at any time before
     final judgment is rendered, statutory damages in a sum of not
     more than $5,000, as the court considers just.
       ``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in a case where the
     customer sustains the burden of

[[Page H12596]]

     proof, and the court finds, that the invention promoter
     intentionally misrepresented or omitted a material fact to
     such customer, or willfully failed to disclose such
     information as required under subsection (a), with the
     purpose of deceiving that customer, the court may increase
     damages to not more than three times the amount awarded,
     taking into account past complaints made against the
     invention promoter that resulted in regulatory sanctions or
     other corrective actions based on those records compiled by
     the Commissioner of Patents under subsection (d).
       ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) a `contract for invention promotion services' means a
     contract by which an invention promoter undertakes invention
     promotion services for a customer;
       ``(2) a `customer' is any individual who enters into a
     contract with an invention promoter for invention promotion
     services;
       ``(3) the term `invention promoter' means any person, firm,
     partnership, corporation, or other entity who offers to
     perform or performs invention promotion services for, or on
     behalf of, a customer, and who holds itself out through
     advertising in any mass media as providing such services, but
     does not include--
       ``(A) any department or agency of the Federal Government or
     of a State or local government;
       ``(B) any nonprofit, charitable, scientific, or educational
     organization, qualified under applicable State law or
     described under section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue
     Code of 1986;
       ``(C) any person or entity involved in the evaluation to
     determine commercial potential of, or offering to license or
     sell, a utility patent or a previously filed
     nonprovisional utility patent application;
       ``(D) any party participating in a transaction involving
     the sale of the stock or assets of a business; or
       ``(E) any party who directly engages in the business of
     retail sales of products or the distribution of products; and
       ``(4) the term `invention promotion services' means the
     procurement or attempted procurement for a customer of a
     firm, corporation, or other entity to develop and market
     products or services that include the invention of the
     customer.
       ``(d) Records of Complaints.--
       ``(1) Release of complaints.--The Commissioner of Patents
     shall make all complaints received by the Patent and
     Trademark Office involving invention promoters publicly
     available, together with any response of the invention
     promoters. The Commissioner of Patents shall notify the
     invention promoter of a complaint and provide a reasonable
     opportunity to reply prior to making such complaint publicly
     available.
       ``(2) Request for complaints.--The Commissioner of Patents
     may request complaints relating to invention promotion
     services from any Federal or State agency and include such
     complaints in the records maintained under paragraph (1),
     together with any response of the invention promoters.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the
     beginning of chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``297. Improper and deceptive invention promotion.''.

     SEC. 4103. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle
     shall take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of
     this Act.

             Subtitle B--Patent and Trademark Fee Fairness

     SEC. 4201. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Patent and Trademark
     Fee Fairness Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 4202. ADJUSTMENT OF PATENT FEES.

       (a) Original Filing Fee.--Section 41(a)(1)(A) of title 35,
     United States Code, relating to the fee for filing an
     original patent application, is amended by striking ``$760''
     and inserting ``$690''.
       (b) Reissue Fee.--Section 41(a)(4)(A) of title 35, United
     States Code, relating to the fee for filing for a reissue of
     a patent, is amended by striking ``$760'' and inserting
     ``$690''.
       (c) National Fee for Certain International Applications.--
     Section 41(a)(10) of title 35, United States Code, relating
     to the national fee for certain international applications,
     is amended by striking ``$760'' and inserting ``$690''.
       (d) Maintenance Fees.--Section 41(b)(1) of title 35, United
     States Code, relating to certain maintenance fees, is amended
     by striking ``$940'' and inserting ``$830''.

     SEC. 4203. ADJUSTMENT OF TRADEMARK FEES.

       Notwithstanding the second sentence of section 31(a) of the
     Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 111(a)), the Under Secretary
     of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the
     United States Patent and Trademark Office is authorized in
     fiscal year 2000 to adjust trademark fees without regard to
     fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index during the preceding
     12 months.

     SEC. 4204. STUDY ON ALTERNATIVE FEE STRUCTURES.

       The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
     and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
     shall conduct a study of alternative fee structures that
     could be adopted by the United States Patent and Trademark
     Office to encourage maximum participation by the inventor
     community in the United States. The Director shall submit
     such study to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
     Representatives and the Senate not later than 1 year after
     the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 4205. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE FUNDING.

       Section 42(c) of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     in the second sentence--
       (1) by striking ``Fees available'' and inserting ``All fees
     available''; and
       (2) by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall''.

     SEC. 4206. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
     amendments made by this subtitle shall take effect on the
     date of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Section 4202.--The amendments made by section 4202 of
     this subtitle shall take effect 30 days after the date of the
     enactment of this Act.

                   Subtitle C--First Inventor Defense

     SEC. 4301. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``First Inventor Defense
     Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 4302. DEFENSE TO PATENT INFRINGEMENT BASED ON EARLIER
                   INVENTOR.

       (a) Defense.--Chapter 28 of title 35, United States Code,
     is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``Sec. 273. Defense to infringement based on earlier inventor

       ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) the terms `commercially used' and `commercial use'
     mean use of a method in the United States, so long as such
     use is in connection with an internal commercial use or an
     actual arm's-length sale or other arm's-length commercial
     transfer of a useful end result, whether or not the subject
     matter at issue is accessible to or otherwise known to the
     public, except that the subject matter for which commercial
     marketing or use is subject to a premarketing regulatory
     review period during which the safety or efficacy of the
     subject matter is established, including any period specified
     in section 156(g), shall be deemed `commercially used' and in
     `commercial use' during such regulatory review period;
       ``(2) in the case of activities performed by a nonprofit
     research laboratory, or nonprofit entity such as a
     university, research center, or hospital, a use for which the
     public is the intended beneficiary shall be considered to be
     a use described in paragraph (1), except that the use--
       ``(A) may be asserted as a defense under this section only
     for continued use by and in the laboratory or nonprofit
     entity; and
       ``(B) may not be asserted as a defense with respect to any
     subsequent commercialization or use outside such laboratory
     or nonprofit entity;
       ``(3) the term `method' means a method of doing or
     conducting business; and
       ``(4) the `effective filing date' of a patent is the
     earlier of the actual filing date of the application for the
     patent or the filing date of any earlier United States,
     foreign, or international application to which the subject
     matter at issue is entitled under section 119, 120, or 365 of
     this title.
       ``(b) Defense to Infringement.--
       ``(1) In general.--It shall be a defense to an action for
     infringement under section 271 of this title with respect to
     any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more
     claims for a method in the patent being asserted against a
     person, if such person had, acting in good faith, actually
     reduced the subject matter to practice at least 1 year before
     the effective filing date of such patent, and commercially
     used the subject matter before the effective filing date of
     such patent.
       ``(2) Exhaustion of right.--The sale or other disposition
     of a useful end product produced by a patented method, by a
     person entitled to assert a defense under this section with
     respect to that useful end result shall exhaust the patent
     owner's rights under the patent to the extent such rights
     would have been exhausted had such sale or other disposition
     been made by the patent owner.
       ``(3) Limitations and qualifications of defense.--The
     defense to infringement under this section is subject to the
     following:
       ``(A) Patent.--A person may not assert the defense under
     this section unless the invention for which the defense is
     asserted is for a method.
       ``(B) Derivation.--A person may not assert the defense
     under this section if the subject matter on which the defense
     is based was derived from the patentee or persons in privity
     with the patentee.
       ``(C) Not a general license.--The defense asserted by a
     person under this section is not a general license under all
     claims of the patent at issue, but extends only to the
     specific subject matter claimed in the patent with respect to
     which the person can assert a defense under this chapter,
     except that the defense shall also extend to variations in
     the quantity or volume of use of the claimed subject matter,
     and to improvements in the claimed subject matter that do not
     infringe additional specifically claimed subject matter of
     the patent.
       ``(4) Burden of proof.--A person asserting the defense
     under this section shall have the burden of establishing the
     defense by clear and convincing evidence.
       ``(5) Abandonment of use.--A person who has abandoned
     commercial use of subject matter may not rely on activities
     performed before the date of such abandonment in establishing
     a defense under this section with respect to actions taken
     after the date of such abandonment.
       ``(6) Personal defense.--The defense under this section may
     be asserted only by the person who performed the acts
     necessary to establish the defense and, except for any
     transfer to the patent owner, the right to assert the
     defense shall not be licensed or assigned or transferred
     to another person except as an ancillary and subordinate
     part of a good faith assignment or transfer for other
     reasons of the entire enterprise or line of business to
     which the defense relates.
       ``(7) Limitation on sites.--A defense under this section,
     when acquired as part of a good faith assignment or transfer
     of an entire enterprise or line of business to which the
     defense relates, may only be asserted for uses at sites

[[Page H12597]]

     where the subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or
     more of the claims is in use before the later of the
     effective filing date of the patent or the date of the
     assignment or transfer of such enterprise or line of
     business.
       ``(8) Unsuccessful assertion of defense.--If the defense
     under this section is pleaded by a person who is found to
     infringe the patent and who subsequently fails to demonstrate
     a reasonable basis for asserting the defense, the court shall
     find the case exceptional for the purpose of awarding
     attorney fees under section 285 of this title.
       ``(9) Invalidity.--A patent shall not be deemed to be
     invalid under section 102 or 103 of this title solely because
     a defense is raised or established under this section.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the
     beginning of chapter 28 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``273. Defense to infringement based on earlier inventor.''.

     SEC. 4303. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.

       This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle
     shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act,
     but shall not apply to any action for infringement that is
     pending on such date of enactment or with respect to any
     subject matter for which an adjudication of infringement,
     including a consent judgment, has been made before such date
     of enactment.

                   Subtitle D--Patent Term Guarantee

     SEC. 4401. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Patent Term Guarantee
     Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 4402. PATENT TERM GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.

       (a) Adjustment of Patent Term.--Section 154(b) of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Adjustment of Patent Term.--
       ``(1) Patent term guarantees.--
       ``(A) Guarantee of prompt patent and trademark office
     responses.--Subject to the limitations under paragraph (2),
     if the issue of an original patent is delayed due to the
     failure of the Patent and Trademark Office to--
       ``(i) provide at least one of the notifications under
     section 132 of this title or a notice of allowance under
     section 151 of this title not later than 14 months after--

       ``(I) the date on which an application was filed under
     section 111(a) of this title; or
       ``(II) the date on which an international application
     fulfilled the requirements of section 371 of this title;

       ``(ii) respond to a reply under section 132, or to an
     appeal taken under section 134, within 4 months after the
     date on which the reply was filed or the appeal was taken;
       ``(iii) act on an application within 4 months after the
     date of a decision by the Board of Patent Appeals and
     Interferences under section 134 or 135 or a decision by a
     Federal court under section 141, 145, or 146 in a case in
     which allowable claims remain in the application; or
       ``(iv) issue a patent within 4 months after the date on
     which the issue fee was paid under section 151 and all
     outstanding requirements were satisfied,
     the term of the patent shall be extended 1 day for each day
     after the end of the period specified in clause (i), (ii),
     (iii), or (iv), as the case may be, until the action
     described in such clause is taken.
       ``(B) Guarantee of no more than 3-year application
     pendency.--Subject to the limitations under paragraph (2), if
     the issue of an original patent is delayed due to the failure
     of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to issue a
     patent within 3 years after the actual filing date of the
     application in the United States, not including--
       ``(i) any time consumed by continued examination of the
     application requested by the applicant under section 132(b);
       ``(ii) any time consumed by a proceeding under section
     135(a), any time consumed by the imposition of an order under
     section 181, or any time consumed by appellate review by the
     Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences or by a Federal
     court; or
       ``(iii) any delay in the processing of the application by
     the United States Patent and Trademark Office requested by
     the applicant except as permitted by paragraph (3)(C),
     the term of the patent shall be extended 1 day for each day
     after the end of that 3-year period until the patent is
     issued.
       ``(C) Guarantee or adjustments for delays due to
     interferences, secrecy orders, and appeals.--Subject to the
     limitations under paragraph (2), if the issue of an original
     patent is delayed due to--
       ``(i) a proceeding under section 135(a);
       ``(ii) the imposition of an order under section 181; or
       ``(iii) appellate review by the Board of Patent Appeals and
     Interferences or by a Federal court in a case in which the
     patent was issued under a decision in the review reversing an
     adverse determination of patentability,
     the term of the patent shall be extended 1 day for each day
     of the pendency of the proceeding, order, or review, as the
     case may be.
       ``(2) Limitations.--
       ``(A) In general.--To the extent that periods of delay
     attributable to grounds specified in paragraph (1) overlap,
     the period of any adjustment granted under this subsection
     shall not exceed the actual number of days the issuance of
     the patent was delayed.
       ``(B) Disclaimed term.--No patent the term of which has
     been disclaimed beyond a specified date may be adjusted under
     this section beyond the expiration date specified in the
     disclaimer.
       ``(C) Reduction of period of adjustment.--
       ``(i) The period of adjustment of the term of a patent
     under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by a period equal to the
     period of time during which the applicant failed to engage in
     reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution of the
     application.
       ``(ii) With respect to adjustments to patent term made
     under the authority of paragraph (1)(B), an applicant shall
     be deemed to have failed to engage in reasonable efforts to
     conclude processing or examination of an application for the
     cumulative total of any periods of time in excess of 3 months
     that are taken to respond to a notice from the Office making
     any rejection, objection, argument, or other request,
     measuring such 3-month period from the date the notice was
     given or mailed to the applicant.
       ``(iii) The Director shall prescribe regulations
     establishing the circumstances that constitute a failure of
     an applicant to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude
     processing or examination of an application.
       ``(3) Procedures for patent term adjustment
     determination.--
       ``(A) The Director shall prescribe regulations establishing
     procedures for the application for and determination of
     patent term adjustments under this subsection.
       ``(B) Under the procedures established under subparagraph
     (A), the Director shall--
       ``(i) make a determination of the period of any patent term
     adjustment under this subsection, and shall transmit a notice
     of that determination with the written notice of allowance of
     the application under section 151; and
       ``(ii) provide the applicant one opportunity to request
     reconsideration of any patent term adjustment determination
     made by the Director.
       ``(C) The Director shall reinstate all or part of the
     cumulative period of time of an adjustment under paragraph
     (2)(C) if the applicant, prior to the issuance of the patent,
     makes a showing that, in spite of all due care, the applicant
     was unable to respond within the 3-month period, but in no
     case shall more than three additional months for each such
     response beyond the original 3-month period be reinstated.
       ``(D) The Director shall proceed to grant the patent after
     completion of the Director's determination of a patent term
     adjustment under the procedures established under this
     subsection, notwithstanding any appeal taken by the applicant
     of such determination.
       ``(4) Appeal of patent term adjustment determination.--
       ``(A) An applicant dissatisfied with a determination made
     by the Director under paragraph (3) shall have remedy by a
     civil action against the Director filed in the United States
     District Court for the District of Columbia within 180 days
     after the grant of the patent. Chapter 7 of title 5, United
     States Code, shall apply to such action. Any final judgment
     resulting in a change to the period of adjustment of the
     patent term shall be served on the Director, and the Director
     shall thereafter alter the term of the patent to reflect such
     change.
       ``(B) The determination of a patent term adjustment under
     this subsection shall not be subject to appeal or challenge
     by a third party prior to the grant of the patent.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 282 of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     in the fourth paragraph by striking ``156 of this title'' and
     inserting ``154(b) or 156 of this title''.
       (2) Section 1295(a)(4)(C) of title 28, United States Code,
     is amended by striking ``145 or 146'' and inserting ``145,
     146, or 154(b)''.

     SEC. 4403. CONTINUED EXAMINATION OF PATENT APPLICATIONS.

       Section 132 of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence by striking ``Whenever'' and
     inserting ``(a) Whenever''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) The Director shall prescribe regulations to provide
     for the continued examination of applications for patent at
     the request of the applicant. The Director may establish
     appropriate fees for such continued examination and shall
     provide a 50 percent reduction in such fees for small
     entities that qualify for reduced fees under section 41(h)(1)
     of this title.''.

     SEC. 4404. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATION.

       Section 156(a) of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting ``, which
     shall include any patent term adjustment granted under
     section 154(b),'' after ``the original expiration date of the
     patent''.

     SEC. 4405. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) Amendments Made by Sections 4402 and 4404.--The
     amendments made by sections 4402 and 4404 shall take effect
     on the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment
     of this Act and, except for a design patent application filed
     under chapter 16 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply
     to any application filed on or after the date that is 6
     months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Amendments Made by Section 4403.--The amendments made
     by section 4403--
       (1) shall take effect on the date that is 6 months after
     the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to all
     applications filed under section 111(a) of title 35, United
     States Code, on or after June 8, 1995, and all applications
     complying with section 371 of title 35, United States Code,
     that resulted from international applications filed on or
     after June 8, 1995; and
       (2) do not apply to applications for design patents under
     chapter 16 of title 35, United States Code.

   Subtitle E--Domestic Publication of Patent Applications Published
                                 Abroad

     SEC. 4501. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Domestic Publication of
     Foreign Filed Patent Applications Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 4502. PUBLICATION.

       (a) Publication.--Section 122 of title 35, United States
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

[[Page H12598]]

     ``Sec. 122. Confidential status of applications; publication
       of patent applications

       ``(a) Confidentiality.--Except as provided in subsection
     (b), applications for patents shall be kept in confidence by
     the Patent and Trademark Office and no information concerning
     the same given without authority of the applicant or owner
     unless necessary to carry out the provisions of an Act of
     Congress or in such special circumstances as may be
     determined by the Director.
       ``(b) Publication.--
       ``(1) In general.--(A) Subject to paragraph (2), each
     application for a patent shall be published, in accordance
     with procedures determined by the Director, promptly after
     the expiration of a period of 18 months from the earliest
     filing date for which a benefit is sought under this title.
     At the request of the applicant, an application may be
     published earlier than the end of such 18-month period.
       ``(B) No information concerning published patent
     applications shall be made available to the public except as
     the Director determines.
       ``(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
     determination by the Director to release or not to release
     information concerning a published patent application shall
     be final and nonreviewable.
       ``(2) Exceptions.--(A) An application shall not be
     published if that application is--
       ``(i) no longer pending;
       ``(ii) subject to a secrecy order under section 181 of this
     title;
       ``(iii) a provisional application filed under section
     111(b) of this title; or
       ``(iv) an application for a design patent filed under
     chapter 16 of this title.
       ``(B)(i) If an applicant makes a request upon filing,
     certifying that the invention disclosed in the application
     has not and will not be the subject of an application filed
     in another country, or under a multilateral international
     agreement, that requires publication of applications 18
     months after filing, the application shall not be published
     as provided in paragraph (1).
       ``(ii) An applicant may rescind a request made under clause
     (i) at any time.
       ``(iii) An applicant who has made a request under clause
     (i) but who subsequently files, in a foreign country or under
     a multilateral international agreement specified in clause
     (i), an application directed to the invention disclosed in
     the application filed in the Patent and Trademark Office,
     shall notify the Director of such filing not later than 45
     days after the date of the filing of such foreign or
     international application. A failure of the applicant to
     provide such notice within the prescribed period shall result
     in the application being regarded as abandoned, unless it is
     shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay in
     submitting the notice was unintentional.
       ``(iv) If an applicant rescinds a request made under clause
     (i) or notifies the Director that an application was filed in
     a foreign country or under a multilateral international
     agreement specified in clause (i), the application shall be
     published in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1)
     on or as soon as is practical after the date that is
     specified in clause (i).
       ``(v) If an applicant has filed applications in one or more
     foreign countries, directly or through a multilateral
     international agreement, and such foreign filed applications
     corresponding to an application filed in the Patent and
     Trademark Office or the description of the invention in such
     foreign filed applications is less extensive than the
     application or description of the invention in the
     application filed in the Patent and Trademark Office, the
     applicant may submit a redacted copy of the application filed
     in the Patent and Trademark Office eliminating any part or
     description of the invention in such application that is not
     also contained in any of the corresponding applications filed
     in a foreign country. The Director may only publish the
     redacted copy of the application unless the redacted copy of
     the application is not received within 16 months after the
     earliest effective filing date for which a benefit is sought
     under this title. The provisions of section 154(d) shall not
     apply to a claim if the description of the invention
     published in the redacted application filed under this clause
     with respect to the claim does not enable a person skilled in
     the art to make and use the subject matter of the claim.
       ``(c) Protest and Pre-Issuance Opposition.--The Director
     shall establish appropriate procedures to ensure that no
     protest or other form of pre-issuance opposition to the grant
     of a patent on an application may be initiated after
     publication of the application without the express written
     consent of the applicant.
       ``(d) National Security.--No application for patent shall
     be published under subsection (b)(1) if the publication or
     disclosure of such invention would be detrimental to the
     national security. The Director shall establish appropriate
     procedures to ensure that such applications are promptly
     identified and the secrecy of such inventions is maintained
     in accordance with chapter 17 of this title.''.
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a 3-
     year study of the applicants who file only in the United
     States on or after the effective date of this subtitle and
     shall provide the results of such study to the Judiciary
     Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
       (2) Contents.--The study conducted under paragraph (1)
     shall--
       (A) consider the number of such applicants in relation to
     the number of applicants who file in the United States and
     outside of the United States;
       (B) examine how many domestic-only filers request at the
     time of filing not to be published;
       (C) examine how many such filers rescind that request or
     later choose to file abroad;
       (D) examine the status of the entity seeking an application
     and any correlation that may exist between such status and
     the publication of patent applications; and
       (E) examine the abandonment/issuance ratios and length of
     application pendency before patent issuance or abandonment
     for published versus unpublished applications.

     SEC. 4503. TIME FOR CLAIMING BENEFIT OF EARLIER FILING DATE.

       (a) In a Foreign Country.--Section 119(b) of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b)(1) No application for patent shall be entitled to
     this right of priority unless a claim is filed in the Patent
     and Trademark Office, identifying the foreign application by
     specifying the application number on that foreign
     application, the intellectual property authority or country
     in or for which the application was filed, and the date of
     filing the application, at such time during the pendency of
     the application as required by the Director.
       ``(2) The Director may consider the failure of the
     applicant to file a timely claim for priority as a waiver of
     any such claim. The Director may establish procedures,
     including the payment of a surcharge, to accept an
     unintentionally delayed claim under this section.
       ``(3) The Director may require a certified copy of the
     original foreign application, specification, and drawings
     upon which it is based, a translation if not in the English
     language, and such other information as the Director
     considers necessary. Any such certification shall be made by
     the foreign intellectual property authority in which the
     foreign application was filed and show the date of the
     application and of the filing of the specification and other
     papers.''.
       (b) In the United States.--
       (1) In general.--Section 120 of title 35, United States
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``No
     application shall be entitled to the benefit of an earlier
     filed application under this section unless an amendment
     containing the specific reference to the earlier filed
     application is submitted at such time during the pendency of
     the application as required by the Director. The Director may
     consider the failure to submit such an amendment within that
     time period as a waiver of any benefit under this section.
     The Director may establish procedures, including the payment
     of a surcharge, to accept an unintentionally delayed
     submission of an amendment under this section.''.
       (2) Right of priority.--Section 119(e)(1) of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
     following: ``No application shall be entitled to the benefit
     of an earlier filed provisional application under this
     subsection unless an amendment containing the specific
     reference to the earlier filed provisional application is
     submitted at such time during the pendency of the application
     as required by the Director. The Director may consider the
     failure to submit such an amendment within that time period
     as a waiver of any benefit under this subsection. The
     Director may establish procedures, including the payment of a
     surcharge, to accept an unintentionally delayed submission of
     an amendment under this subsection during the pendency of the
     application.''.

     SEC. 4504. PROVISIONAL RIGHTS.

       Section 154 of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in the section caption by inserting ``; provisional
     rights'' after ``patent''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Provisional Rights.--
       ``(1) In general.--In addition to other rights provided by
     this section, a patent shall include the right to obtain a
     reasonable royalty from any person who, during the period
     beginning on the date of publication of the application for
     such patent under section 122(b), or in the case of an
     international application filed under the treaty defined in
     section 351(a) designating the United States under Article
     21(2)(a) of such treaty, the date of publication of the
     application, and ending on the date the patent is issued--
       ``(A)(i) makes, uses, offers for sale, or sells in the
     United States the invention as claimed in the published
     patent application or imports such an invention into the
     United States; or
       ``(ii) if the invention as claimed in the published patent
     application is a process, uses, offers for sale, or sells in
     the United States or imports into the United States products
     made by that process as claimed in the published patent
     application; and
       ``(B) had actual notice of the published patent application
     and, in a case in which the right arising under this
     paragraph is based upon an international application
     designating the United States that is published in a language
     other than English, had a translation of the international
     application into the English language.
       ``(2) Right based on substantially identical inventions.--
     The right under paragraph (1) to obtain a reasonable royalty
     shall not be available under this subsection unless the
     invention as claimed in the patent is substantially identical
     to the invention as claimed in the published patent
     application.
       ``(3) Time limitation on obtaining a reasonable royalty.--
     The right under paragraph (1) to obtain a reasonable royalty
     shall be available only in an action brought not later than 6
     years after the patent is issued. The right under paragraph
     (1) to obtain a reasonable royalty shall not be affected by
     the duration of the period described in paragraph (1).
       ``(4) Requirements for international applications.--
       ``(A) Effective date.--The right under paragraph (1) to
     obtain a reasonable royalty based upon the publication under
     the treaty defined in section 351(a) of an international
     application

[[Page H12599]]

     designating the United States shall commence on the date on
     which the Patent and Trademark Office receives a copy of the
     publication under the treaty of the international
     application, or, if the publication under the treaty of the
     international application is in a language other than
     English, on the date on which the Patent and Trademark Office
     receives a translation of the international application in
     the English language.
       ``(B) Copies.--The Director may require the applicant to
     provide a copy of the international application and a
     translation thereof.''.

     SEC. 4505. PRIOR ART EFFECT OF PUBLISHED APPLICATIONS.

       Section 102(e) of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     to read as follows:
       ``(e) The invention was described in--
       ``(1) an application for patent, published under section
     122(b), by another filed in the United States before the
     invention by the applicant for patent, except that an
     international application filed under the treaty defined in
     section 351(a) shall have the effect under this subsection of
     a national application published under section 122(b) only if
     the international application designating the United States
     was published under Article 21(2)(a) of such treaty in the
     English language; or
       ``(2) a patent granted on an application for patent by
     another filed in the United States before the invention by
     the applicant for patent, except that a patent shall not be
     deemed filed in the United States for the purposes of this
     subsection based on the filing of an international
     application filed under the treaty defined in section 351(a);
     or''.

     SEC. 4506. COST RECOVERY FOR PUBLICATION.

       The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
     and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
     shall recover the cost of early publication required by the
     amendment made by section 4502 by charging a separate
     publication fee after notice of allowance is given under
     section 151 of title 35, United States Code.

     SEC. 4507. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       The following provisions of title 35, United States Code,
     are amended:
       (1) Section 11 is amended in paragraph 1 of subsection (a)
     by inserting ``and published applications for patents'' after
     ``Patents''.
       (2) Section 12 is amended--
       (A) in the section caption by inserting ``and
     applications'' after ``patents''; and
       (B) by inserting ``and published applications for patents''
     after ``patents''.
       (3) Section 13 is amended--
       (A) in the section caption by inserting ``and
     applications'' after ``patents''; and
       (B) by inserting ``and published applications for patents''
     after ``patents''.
       (4) The items relating to sections 12 and 13 in the table
     of sections for chapter 1 are each amended by inserting ``and
     applications'' after ``patents''.
       (5) The item relating to section 122 in the table of
     sections for chapter 11 is amended by inserting ``;
     publication of patent applications'' after ``applications''.
       (6) The item relating to section 154 in the table of
     sections for chapter 14 is amended by inserting ``;
     provisional rights'' after ``patent''.
       (7) Section 181 is amended--
       (A) in the first undesignated paragraph--
       (i) by inserting ``by the publication of an application
     or'' after ``disclosure''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``the publication of the application or''
     after ``withhold'';
       (B) in the second undesignated paragraph by inserting ``by
     the publication of an application or'' after ``disclosure of
     an invention'';
       (C) in the third undesignated paragraph--
       (i) by inserting ``by the publication of the application
     or'' after ``disclosure of the invention''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``the publication of the application or''
     after ``withhold''; and
       (D) in the fourth undesignated paragraph by inserting ``the
     publication of an application or'' after ``and'' in the first
     sentence.
       (8) Section 252 is amended in the first undesignated
     paragraph by inserting ``substantially'' before ``identical''
     each place it appears.
       (9) Section 284 is amended by adding at the end of the
     second undesignated paragraph the following: ``Increased
     damages under this paragraph shall not apply to provisional
     rights under section 154(d) of this title.''.
       (10) Section 374 is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 374. Publication of international application

       ``The publication under the treaty defined in section
     351(a) of this title, of an international application
     designating the United States shall confer the same rights
     and shall have the same effect under this title as an
     application for patent published under section 122(b), except
     as provided in sections 102(e) and 154(d) of this title.''.
       (11) Section 135(b) is amended--
       (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) A claim which is the same as, or for the same or
     substantially the same subject matter as, a claim of an
     application published under section 122(b) of this title may
     be made in an application filed after the application is
     published only if the claim is made before 1 year after the
     date on which the application is published.''.

     SEC. 4508. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Sections 4502 through 4507, and the amendments made by such
     sections, shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after
     the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to all
     applications filed under section 111 of title 35, United
     States Code, on or after that date, and all applications
     complying with section 371 of title 35, United States Code,
     that resulted from international applications filed on or
     after that date. The amendments made by sections 4504 and
     4505 shall apply to any such application voluntarily
     published by the applicant under procedures established under
     this subtitle that is pending on the date that is 1 year
     after the date of the enactment of this Act. The amendment
     made by section 4504 shall also apply to international
     applications designating the United States that are filed on
     or after the date that is 1 year after the date of the
     enactment of this Act.

       Subtitle F--Optional Inter Partes Reexamination Procedure

     SEC. 4601. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Optional Inter Partes
     Reexamination Procedure Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 4602. EX PARTE REEXAMINATION OF PATENTS.

       The chapter heading for chapter 30 of title 35, United
     States Code, is amended by inserting ``EX PARTE'' before
     ``REEXAMINATION OF PATENTS''.

     SEC. 4603. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 100 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e) The term `third-party requester' means a person
     requesting ex parte reexamination under section 302 or inter
     partes reexamination under section 311 who is not the patent
     owner.''.

     SEC. 4604. OPTIONAL INTER PARTES REEXAMINATION PROCEDURES.

       (a) In General.--Part 3 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by adding after chapter 30 the following new chapter:

      ``CHAPTER 31--OPTIONAL INTER PARTES REEXAMINATION PROCEDURES

``Sec.
``311. Request for inter partes reexamination.
``312. Determination of issue by Director.
``313. Inter partes reexamination order by Director.
``314. Conduct of inter partes reexamination proceedings.
``315. Appeal.
``316. Certificate of patentability, unpatentability, and claim
              cancellation.
``317. Inter partes reexamination prohibited.
``318. Stay of litigation.

     ``Sec. 311. Request for inter partes reexamination

       ``(a) In General.--Any person at any time may file a
     request for inter partes reexamination by the Office of a
     patent on the basis of any prior art cited under the
     provisions of section 301.
       ``(b) Requirements.--The request shall--
       ``(1) be in writing, include the identity of the real party
     in interest, and be accompanied by payment of an inter partes
     reexamination fee established by the Director under section
     41; and
       ``(2) set forth the pertinency and manner of applying cited
     prior art to every claim for which reexamination is
     requested.
       ``(c) Copy.--Unless the requesting person is the owner of
     the patent, the Director promptly shall send a copy of the
     request to the owner of record of the patent.

     ``Sec. 312. Determination of issue by Director

       ``(a) Reexamination.--Not later than 3 months after the
     filing of a request for inter partes reexamination under
     section 311, the Director shall determine whether a
     substantial new question of patentability affecting any claim
     of the patent concerned is raised by the request, with or
     without consideration of other patents or printed
     publications. On the Director's initiative, and at any time,
     the Director may determine whether a substantial new question
     of patentability is raised by patents and publications.
       ``(b) Record.--A record of the Director's determination
     under subsection (a) shall be placed in the official file of
     the patent, and a copy shall be promptly given or mailed to
     the owner of record of the patent and to the third-party
     requester, if any.
       ``(c) Final Decision.--A determination by the Director
     under subsection (a) shall be final and non-appealable. Upon
     a determination that no substantial new question of
     patentability has been raised, the Director may refund a
     portion of the inter partes reexamination fee required under
     section 311.

     ``Sec. 313. Inter partes reexamination order by Director

       ``If, in a determination made under section 312(a), the
     Director finds that a substantial new question of
     patentability affecting a claim of a patent is raised, the
     determination shall include an order for inter partes
     reexamination of the patent for resolution of the question.
     The order may be accompanied by the initial action of the
     Patent and Trademark Office on the merits of the inter partes
     reexamination conducted in accordance with section 314.

     ``Sec. 314. Conduct of inter partes reexamination proceedings

       ``(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this
     section, reexamination shall be conducted according to the
     procedures established for initial examination under the
     provisions of sections 132 and 133. In any inter partes
     reexamination proceeding under this chapter, the patent owner
     shall be permitted to propose any amendment to the patent and
     a new claim or claims, except that no proposed amended or new
     claim enlarging the scope of the claims of the patent shall
     be permitted.
       ``(b) Response.--(1) This subsection shall apply to any
     inter partes reexamination proceeding in which the order for
     inter partes reexamination is based upon a request by a
     third-party requester.
       ``(2) With the exception of the inter partes reexamination
     request, any document filed by either the patent owner or the
     third-party requester shall be served on the other party. In

[[Page H12600]]

     addition, the third-party requester shall receive a copy of
     any communication sent by the Office to the patent owner
     concerning the patent subject to the inter partes
     reexamination proceeding.
       ``(3) Each time that the patent owner files a response to
     an action on the merits from the Patent and Trademark Office,
     the third-party requester shall have one opportunity to file
     written comments addressing issues raised by the action of
     the Office or the patent owner's response thereto, if those
     written comments are received by the Office within 30 days
     after the date of service of the patent owner's response.
       ``(c) Special Dispatch.--Unless otherwise provided by the
     Director for good cause, all inter partes reexamination
     proceedings under this section, including any appeal to the
     Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, shall be
     conducted with special dispatch within the Office.

     ``Sec. 315. Appeal

       ``(a) Patent Owner.--The patent owner involved in an inter
     partes reexamination proceeding under this chapter--
       ``(1) may appeal under the provisions of section 134 and
     may appeal under the provisions of sections 141 through 144,
     with respect to any decision adverse to the patentability of
     any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent;
     and
       ``(2) may be a party to any appeal taken by a third-party
     requester under subsection (b).
       ``(b) Third-Party Requester.--A third-party requester may--
       ``(1) appeal under the provisions of section 134 with
     respect to any final decision favorable to the patentability
     of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the
     patent; or
       ``(2) be a party to any appeal taken by the patent owner
     under the provisions of section 134, subject to subsection
     (c).
       ``(c) Civil Action.--A third-party requester whose request
     for an inter partes reexamination results in an order under
     section 313 is estopped from asserting at a later time, in
     any civil action arising in whole or in part under section
     1338 of title 28, United States Code, the invalidity of any
     claim finally determined to be valid and patentable on any
     ground which the third-party requester raised or could have
     raised during the inter partes reexamination proceedings.
     This subsection does not prevent the assertion of invalidity
     based on newly discovered prior art unavailable to the third-
     party requester and the Patent and Trademark Office at the
     time of the inter partes reexamination proceedings.

     ``Sec. 316. Certificate of patentability, unpatentability,
       and claim cancellation

       ``(a) In General.--In an inter partes reexamination
     proceeding under this chapter, when the time for appeal has
     expired or any appeal proceeding has terminated, the Director
     shall issue and publish a certificate canceling any claim of
     the patent finally determined to be unpatentable, confirming
     any claim of the patent determined to be patentable, and
     incorporating in the patent any proposed amended or new claim
     determined to be patentable.
       ``(b) Amended or New Claim.--Any proposed amended or new
     claim determined to be patentable and incorporated into a
     patent following an inter partes reexamination proceeding
     shall have the same effect as that specified in section 252
     of this title for reissued patents on the right of any person
     who made, purchased, or used within the United States, or
     imported into the United States, anything patented by such
     proposed amended or new claim, or who made substantial
     preparation therefor, prior to issuance of a certificate
     under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

     ``Sec. 317. Inter partes reexamination prohibited

       ``(a) Order for Reexamination.--Notwithstanding any
     provision of this chapter, once an order for inter partes
     reexamination of a patent has been issued under section 313,
     neither the patent owner nor the third-party requester, if
     any, nor privies of either, may file a subsequent request for
     inter partes reexamination of the patent until an inter
     partes reexamination certificate is issued and published
     under section 316, unless authorized by the Director.
       ``(b) Final Decision.--Once a final decision has been
     entered against a party in a civil action arising in whole or
     in part under section 1338 of title 28, United States Code,
     that the party has not sustained its burden of proving the
     invalidity of any patent claim in suit or if a final decision
     in an inter partes reexamination proceeding instituted by a
     third-party requester is favorable to the patentability of
     any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent,
     then neither that party nor its privies may thereafter
     request an inter partes reexamination of any such patent
     claim on the basis of issues which that party or its privies
     raised or could have raised in such civil action or inter
     partes reexamination proceeding, and an inter partes
     reexamination requested by that party or its privies on the
     basis of such issues may not thereafter be maintained by the
     Office, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter.
     This subsection does not prevent the assertion of invalidity
     based on newly discovered prior art unavailable to the third-
     party requester and the Patent and Trademark Office at the
     time of the inter partes reexamination proceedings.

     ``Sec. 318. Stay of litigation

       ``Once an order for inter partes reexamination of a patent
     has been issued under section 313, the patent owner may
     obtain a stay of any pending litigation which involves an
     issue of patentability of any claims of the patent which are
     the subject of the inter partes reexamination order, unless
     the court before which such litigation is pending determines
     that a stay would not serve the interests of justice.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for part
     III of title 25, United States Code, is amended by striking
     the item relating to chapter 30 and inserting the following:

``30. Prior Art Citations to Office and Ex Parte Reexamination of
    Patents.....................................................301....

``31. Optional Inter Partes Reexamination of Patents.........311''.....

     SEC. 4605. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Patent Fees; Patent Search Systems.--Section 41(a)(7)
     of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as
     follows:
       ``(7) On filing each petition for the revival of an
     unintentionally abandoned application for a patent, for the
     unintentionally delayed payment of the fee for issuing each
     patent, or for an unintentionally delayed response by the
     patent owner in any reexamination proceeding, $1,210, unless
     the petition is filed under section 133 or 151 of this title,
     in which case the fee shall be $110.''.
       (b) Appeal to the Board of Patents Appeals and
     Interferences.--Section 134 of title 35, United States Code,
     is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 134. Appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and
       Interferences

       ``(a) Patent Applicant.--An applicant for a patent, any of
     whose claims has been twice rejected, may appeal from the
     decision of the administrative patent judge to the Board of
     Patent Appeals and Interferences, having once paid the fee
     for such appeal.
       ``(b) Patent Owner.--A patent owner in any reexamination
     proceeding may appeal from the final rejection of any claim
     by the administrative patent judge to the Board of Patent
     Appeals and Interferences, having once paid the fee for such
     appeal.
       ``(c) Third-Party.--A third-party requester in an inter
     partes proceeding may appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals
     and Interferences from the final decision of the
     administrative patent judge favorable to the patentability of
     any original or proposed amended or new claim of a patent,
     having once paid the fee for such appeal. The third-party
     requester may not appeal the decision of the Board of Patent
     Appeals and Interferences.''.
       (c) Appeal to Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.--
     Section 141 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by
     adding the following after the second sentence: ``A patent
     owner in any reexamination proceeding dissatisfied with the
     final decision in an appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals
     and Interferences under section 134 may appeal the decision
     only to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal
     Circuit.''.
       (d) Proceedings on Appeal.--Section 143 of title 35, United
     States Code, is amended by amending the third sentence to
     read as follows: ``In any reexamination case, the Director
     shall submit to the court in writing the grounds for the
     decision of the Patent and Trademark Office, addressing all
     the issues involved in the appeal.''.
       (e) Civil Action To Obtain Patent.--Section 145 of title
     35, United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by
     inserting ``(a)'' after ``section 134''.

     SEC. 4606. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of
     this Act, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
     Property and Director of the United States Patent and
     Trademark Office shall submit to the Congress a report
     evaluating whether the inter partes reexamination proceedings
     established under the amendments made by this subtitle are
     inequitable to any of the parties in interest and, if so, the
     report shall contain recommendations for changes to the
     amendments made by this subtitle to remove such inequity.

     SEC. 4607. ESTOPPEL EFFECT OF REEXAMINATION.

       Any party who requests an inter partes reexamination under
     section 311 of title 35, United States Code, is estopped from
     challenging at a later time, in any civil action, any fact
     determined during the process of such reexamination, except
     with respect to a fact determination later proved to be
     erroneous based on information unavailable at the time of the
     inter partes reexamination decision. If this section is held
     to be unenforceable, the enforceability of the remainder of
     this subtitle or of this title shall not be denied as a
     result.

     SEC. 4608. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), this subtitle
     and the amendments made by this subtitle shall take effect on
     the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to any
     patent that issues from an original application filed in the
     United States on or after that date.
       (b) Section 4605(a).--The amendments made by section
     4605(a) shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after
     the date of the enactment of this Act.

                Subtitle G--Patent and Trademark Office

     SEC. 4701. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Patent and Trademark
     Office Efficiency Act''.

          CHAPTER 1--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

     SEC. 4711. ESTABLISHMENT OF PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE.

       Section 1 of title 35, United States Code, is amended to
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 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

[[Page H12601]]

     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. 4712. POWERS AND DUTIES.

       Section 2 of title 35, United States Code, is amended to
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 2. Powers and duties

       ``(a) In General.--The United States Patent and Trademark
     Office, subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of
     Commerce--
       ``(1) shall be responsible for the granting and issuing of
     patents and the registration of trademarks; and
       ``(2) shall be responsible for disseminating to the public
     information with respect to patents and trademarks.
       ``(b) Specific Powers.--The Office--
       ``(1) 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;
       ``(2) may establish regulations, not inconsistent with law,
     which--
       ``(A) shall govern the conduct of proceedings in the
     Office;
       ``(B) shall be made in accordance with section 553 of title
     5, United States Code;
       ``(C) 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;
       ``(D) 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;
       ``(E) 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) of this title; and
       ``(F) 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;
       ``(3) 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;
       ``(4)(A) 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 the Federal Property and
     Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.),
     the Public Buildings Act (40 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and the
     Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301
     et seq.); and
       ``(B) 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, United States Code;
       ``(5) 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;
       ``(6) 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;
       ``(7) 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;
       ``(8) shall advise the President, through the Secretary of
     Commerce, on national and certain international intellectual
     property policy issues;
       ``(9) shall advise Federal departments and agencies on
     matters of intellectual property policy in the United States
     and intellectual property protection in other countries;
       ``(10) 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;
       ``(11) 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;
       ``(12)(A) 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
       ``(B) may conduct programs and studies described in
     subparagraph (A); and
       ``(13)(A) in coordination with the Department of State, may
     conduct programs and studies cooperatively with foreign
     intellectual property offices and international
     intergovernmental organizations; and
       ``(B) 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.--(1) 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.
       ``(2) 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).
       ``(3) 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.
       ``(4) 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.
       ``(5) 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.''.

     SEC. 4713. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT.

       Section 3 of title 35, United States Code, is amended to
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 3. Officers and employees

       ``(a) Under Secretary and Director.--
       ``(1) In general.--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.
       ``(2) Duties.--
       ``(A) In general.--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.
       ``(B) Consulting with the public advisory committees.--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,
     United States Code, as the case may be.
       ``(3) Oath.--The Director shall, before taking office, take
     an oath to discharge faithfully the duties of the Office.
       ``(4) Removal.--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.--
       ``(1) Deputy under secretary and deputy director.--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.
       ``(2) Commissioners.--

[[Page H12602]]

       ``(A) Appointment and duties.--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, United States Code. 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.
       ``(B) Salary and performance agreement.--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, United States
     Code, including any applicable locality-based comparability
     payment that may be authorized under section 5304(h)(2)(C) of
     title 5, United States Code. The compensation of the
     Commissioners shall be considered, for purposes of section
     207(c)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code, to be the
     equivalent of that described under clause (ii) of section
     207(c)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code. 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, United States Code.
       ``(C) Removal.--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, United States Code. The Secretary shall provide
     notification of any such removal to both Houses of Congress.
       ``(3) Other officers and employees.--The Director shall--
       ``(A) 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
       ``(B) 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.
       ``(4) Training of examiners.--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.
       ``(5) National security positions.--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.
       ``(c) Continued Applicability of Title 5, United States
     Code.--Officers and employees of the Office shall be subject
     to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 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.--
       ``(1) From pto.--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.
       ``(2) Other personnel.--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 this Act, if--
       ``(A) 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;
       ``(B) 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
       ``(C) 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.--
       ``(1) Interim appointment of director.--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.
       ``(2) Continuation in office of certain officers.--(A) 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).
       ``(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).''.

     SEC. 4714. PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

       Chapter 1 of part I of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by inserting after section 4 the following:

     ``Sec. 5. Patent and Trademark Office Public Advisory
       Committees

       ``(a) Establishment of Public Advisory Committees.--
       ``(1) Appointment.--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. Members of each Public Advisory Committee shall be
     appointed for a term of 3 years, except that of the members
     first appointed, three shall be appointed for a term of 1
     year, and three shall be appointed for a term of 2 years. In
     making appointments to each Committee, the Secretary of
     Commerce shall consider the risk of loss of competitive
     advantage in international commerce or other harm to United
     States companies as a result of such appointments.
       ``(2) Chair.--The Secretary shall designate a chair of each
     Advisory Committee, whose term as chair shall be for 3 years.
       ``(3) Timing of appointments.--Initial appointments to each
     Advisory Committee shall be made within 3 months after the
     effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency
     Act. Vacancies shall be filled within 3 months after they
     occur.
       ``(b) Basis for Appointments.--Members of each Advisory
     Committee--
       ``(1) 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;
       ``(2) 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
       ``(3) 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--
       ``(1) 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;
       ``(2) within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year--
       ``(A) prepare an annual report on the matters referred to
     in paragraph (1);
       ``(B) 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
       ``(C) 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

[[Page H12603]]

     for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of
     title 5, United States Code. 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, United
     States Code.
       ``(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, United States
     Code.
       ``(h) Inapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--
     The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 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 or other confidential
     information.''.

     SEC. 4715. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Duties.--Chapter 1 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking section 6.
       (b) Regulations for Agents and Attorneys.--Section 31 of
     title 35, United States Code, and the item relating to such
     section in the table of sections for chapter 3 of title 35,
     United States Code, are repealed.
       (c) Suspension or Exclusion From Practice.--Section 32 of
     title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking ``31''
     and inserting ``2(b)(2)(D)''.

     SEC. 4716. TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD.

       Section 17 of the Act of July 5, 1946 (commonly referred to
     as the ``Trademark Act of 1946'') (15 U.S.C. 1067) is amended
     to read as follows:
       ``Sec. 17. (a) In every case of interference, opposition to
     registration, application to register as a lawful concurrent
     user, or application to cancel the registration of a mark,
     the Director shall give notice to all parties and shall
     direct a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to determine and
     decide the respective rights of registration.
       ``(b) The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board shall include
     the Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner
     for Trademarks, and administrative trademark judges who are
     appointed by the Director.''.

     SEC. 4717. BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES.

       Chapter 1 of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking section 7 and redesignating sections 8
     through 14 as sections 7 through 13, respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after section 5 the following:

     ``Sec. 6. Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

       ``(a) Establishment and Composition.--There shall be in the
     United States Patent and Trademark Office a Board of Patent
     Appeals and Interferences. The Director, the Commissioner for
     Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the
     administrative patent judges shall constitute the Board. The
     administrative patent judges shall be persons of competent
     legal knowledge and scientific ability who are appointed by
     the Director.
       ``(b) Duties.--The Board of Patent Appeals and
     Interferences shall, on written appeal of an applicant,
     review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for
     patents and shall determine priority and patentability of
     invention in interferences declared under section 135(a).
     Each appeal and interference shall be heard by at least three
     members of the Board, who shall be designated by the
     Director. Only the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
     may grant rehearings.''.

     SEC. 4718. ANNUAL REPORT OF DIRECTOR.

       Section 13 of title 35, United States Code, as redesignated
     by section 4717 of this subtitle, is amended to read as
     follows:

     ``Sec. 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.''.

     SEC. 4719. SUSPENSION OR EXCLUSION FROM PRACTICE.

       Section 32 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by
     inserting before the last sentence the following: ``The
     Director shall have the discretion to designate any attorney
     who is an officer or employee of the United States Patent and
     Trademark Office to conduct the hearing required by this
     section.''.

     SEC. 4720. PAY OF DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR.

       (a) Pay of Director.--Section 5314 of title 5, United
     States Code, is amended by striking:
       ``Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of
     Patents and Trademarks.''.
     and inserting:
       ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
     Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.''.
       (b) Pay of Deputy Director.--Section 5315 of title 5,
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
     following:
       ``Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
     Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and
     Trademark Office.''.

            CHAPTER 2--EFFECTIVE DATE; TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

     SEC. 4731. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle
     shall take effect 4 months after the date of the enactment of
     this Act.

     SEC. 4732. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Amendments to Title 35, United States Code.--
       (1) The item relating to part I in the table of parts for
     chapter 35, United States Code, is amended to read as
     follows:

``I. United States Patent and Trademark Office.................1''.....

       (2) The heading for part I of title 35, United States Code,
     is amended to read as follows:

         ``PART I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE''.

       (3) The table of chapters for part I of title 35, United
     States Code, is amended by amending the item relating to
     chapter 1 to read as follows:

``1. Establishment, Officers and Employees, Functions..........1''.....

       (4) The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 35, United
     States Code, is amended to read as follows:

     ``CHAPTER 1--ESTABLISHMENT, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, FUNCTIONS

``Sec.
`` 1. Establishment.
`` 2. Powers and duties.
`` 3. Officers and employees.
`` 4. Restrictions on officers and employees as to interest in patents.
`` 5. Patent and Trademark Office Public Advisory Committees.
`` 6. Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
`` 7. Library.
`` 8. Classification of patents.
`` 9. Certified copies of records.
``10. Publications.
``11. Exchange of copies of patents and applications with foreign
              countries.
``12. Copies of patents and applications for public libraries.
``13. Annual report to Congress.''.

       (5) Section 41(h) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Commissioner of Patents and
     Trademarks'' and inserting ``Director''.
       (6) Section 155 of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     by striking ``Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks'' and
     inserting ``Director''.
       (7) Section 155A(c) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Commissioner of Patents and
     Trademarks'' and inserting ``Director''.
       (8) Section 302 of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     by striking ``Commissioner of Patents'' and inserting
     ``Director''.
       (9)(A) Section 303 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (i) in the section heading by striking ``Commissioner'' and
     inserting ``Director''; and
       (ii) by striking ``Commissioner's'' and inserting
     ``Director's''.
       (B) The item relating to section 303 in the table of
     sections for chapter 30 of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Commissioner'' and inserting
     ``Director''.
       (10)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), title 35,
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``Commissioner''
     each place it appears and inserting ``Director''.
       (B) Chapter 17 of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     by striking ``Commissioner'' each place it appears and
     inserting ``Commissioner of Patents''.
       (11) Section 157(d) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Secretary of Commerce'' and inserting
     ``Director''.
       (12) Section 202(a) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (A) by striking ``iv)'' and inserting ``(iv)''; and
       (B) by striking the second period after ``Department of
     Energy'' at the end of the first sentence.
       (b) Other Provisions of Law.--
       (1)(A) Section 45 of the Act of July 5, 1946 (commonly
     referred to as the ``Trademark Act of 1946''; 15 U.S.C.
     1127), is amended by striking ``The term `Commissioner' means
     the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.'' and inserting
     ``The term `Director' means the Under Secretary of Commerce
     for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States
     Patent and Trademark Office.''.
       (B) The Act of July 5, 1946 (commonly referred to as the
     ``Trademark Act of 1946''; 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.), except
     for section 17, as amended by 4716 of this subtitle, is
     amended by striking ``Commissioner'' each place it appears
     and inserting ``Director''.
       (C) Sections 8(e) and 9(b) of the Trademark Act of 1946 are
     each amended by striking ``Commissioner'' and inserting
     ``Director''.
       (2) Section 500(e) of title 5, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Patent Office'' and inserting ``United
     States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (3) Section 5102(c)(23) of title 5, United States Code, is
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(23) administrative patent judges and designated
     administrative patent judges in the United States Patent and
     Trademark Office;''.
       (4) Section 5316 of title 5, United States Code (5 U.S.C.
     5316) is amended by striking ``Commissioner of Patents,
     Department of Commerce.'', ``Deputy Commissioner of Patents
     and Trademarks.'', ``Assistant Commissioner for Patents.'',
     and ``Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks.''.
       (5) Section 9(p)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
     638(p)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
     Property and Director of the United States Patent and
     Trademark Office; and''.

[[Page H12604]]

       (6) Section 12 of the Act of February 14, 1903 (15 U.S.C.
     1511) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``(d) Patent and Trademark Office;'' and
     inserting:
       ``(4) United States Patent and Trademark Office''; and
       (B) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), (f ),
     and (g) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), and (7),
     respectively and indenting the paragraphs as so redesignated
     2 ems to the right.
       (7) Section 19 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of
     1933 (16 U.S.C. 831r) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``Patent Office of the United States'' and
     inserting ``United States Patent and Trademark Office''; and
       (B) by striking ``Commissioner of Patents'' and inserting
     ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
     Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (8) Section 182(b)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
     U.S.C. 2242(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``Commissioner
     of Patents and Trademarks'' and inserting ``Under Secretary
     of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the
     United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (9) Section 302(b)(2)(D) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
     U.S.C. 2412(b)(2)(D)) is amended by striking ``Commissioner
     of Patents and Trademarks'' and inserting ``Under Secretary
     of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the
     United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (10) The Act of April 12, 1892 (27 Stat. 395; 20 U.S.C. 91)
     is amended by striking ``Patent Office'' and inserting
     ``United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (11) Sections 505(m) and 512(o) of the Federal Food, Drug,
     and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(m) and 360b(o)) are each
     amended by striking ``Patent and Trademark Office of the
     Department of Commerce'' and inserting ``United States Patent
     and Trademark Office''.
       (12) Section 702(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
     Act (21 U.S.C. 372(d)) is amended by striking ``Commissioner
     of Patents'' and inserting ``Under Secretary of Commerce for
     Intellectual Property and Director of the United States
     Patent and Trademark Office'' and by striking
     ``Commissioner'' and inserting ``Director''.
       (13) Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration
     Act (27 U.S.C. 205(e)) is amended by striking ``United States
     Patent Office'' and inserting ``United States Patent and
     Trademark Office''.
       (14) Section 1295(a)(4) of title 28, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``United States''
     before ``Patent and Trademark''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``Commissioner of
     Patents and Trademarks'' and inserting ``Under Secretary of
     Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United
     States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (15) Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is
     amended--
       (A) in the item relating to section 1744 in the table of
     sections by striking ``Patent Office'' and inserting ``United
     States Patent and Trademark Office'';
       (B) in section 1744--
       (i) by striking ``Patent Office'' each place it appears in
     the text and section heading and inserting ``United States
     Patent and Trademark Office''; and
       (ii) by striking ``Commissioner of Patents'' and inserting
     ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
     Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office'';
     and
       (C) by striking ``Commissioner'' and inserting
     ``Director''.
       (16) Section 1745 of title 28, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``United States Patent Office'' and
     inserting ``United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (17) Section 1928 of title 28, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``Patent Office'' and inserting ``United
     States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (18) Section 151 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
     U.S.C. 2181) is amended in subsections c. and d. by striking
     ``Commissioner of Patents'' and inserting ``Under Secretary
     of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the
     United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (19) Section 152 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
     U.S.C. 2182) is amended by striking ``Commissioner of
     Patents'' each place it appears and inserting ``Under
     Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director
     of the United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (20) Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act
     of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2457) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (c) by striking ``Commissioner of
     Patents'' and inserting ``Under Secretary of Commerce for
     Intellectual Property and Director of the United States
     Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter in this section
     referred to as the `Director')''; and
       (B) by striking ``Commissioner'' each subsequent place it
     appears and inserting ``Director''.
       (21) Section 12(a) of the Solar Heating and Cooling
     Demonstration Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5510(a)) is amended by
     striking ``Commissioner of the Patent Office'' and inserting
     ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
     Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office''.
       (22) Section 1111 of title 44, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``the Commissioner of Patents,''.
       (23) Section 1114 of title 44, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``the Commissioner of Patents,''.
       (24) Section 1123 of title 44, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``the Patent Office,''.
       (25) Sections 1337 and 1338 of title 44, United States
     Code, and the items relating to those sections in the table
     of contents for chapter 13 of such title, are repealed.
       (26) Section 10(i) of the Trading with the enemy Act (50
     U.S.C. App. 10(i)) is amended by striking ``Commissioner of
     Patents'' and inserting ``Under Secretary of Commerce for
     Intellectual Property and Director of the United States
     Patent and Trademark Office''.

                  CHAPTER 3--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     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--
       (1) 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
       (2) 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--
       (1) 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;
       (2) to the Assistant Commissioner for Patents is deemed to
     refer to the Commissioner for Patents; or
       (3) 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--
       (1) 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
       (2) 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 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

[[Page H12605]]

     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.

     SEC. 4749. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this subtitle--
       (1) the term ``function'' includes any duty, obligation,
     power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity,
     or program; and
       (2) the term ``office'' includes any office,
     administration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit,
     organizational entity, or component thereof.

              Subtitle H--Miscellaneous Patent Provisions

     SEC. 4801. PROVISIONAL APPLICATIONS.

       (a) Abandonment.--Section 111(b)(5) of title 35, United
     States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(5) Abandonment.--Notwithstanding the absence of a claim,
     upon timely request and as prescribed by the Director, a
     provisional application may be treated as an application
     filed under subsection (a). Subject to section 119(e)(3) of
     this title, if no such request is made, the provisional
     application shall be regarded as abandoned 12 months after
     the filing date of such application and shall not be subject
     to revival after such 12-month period.''.
       (b) Technical Amendment Relating to Weekends and
     Holidays.--Section 119(e) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) If the day that is 12 months after the filing date of
     a provisional application falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or
     Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, the period
     of pendency of the provisional application shall be extended
     to the next succeeding secular or business day.''.
       (c) Elimination of Copendency Requirement.--Section
     119(e)(2) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by
     striking ``and the provisional application was pending on the
     filing date of the application for patent under section
     111(a) or section 363 of this title''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
     shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
     and shall apply to any provisional application filed on or
     after June 8, 1995, except that the amendments made by
     subsections (b) and (c) shall have no effect with respect to
     any patent which is the subject of litigation in an action
     commenced before such date of enactment.

     SEC. 4802. INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS.

       Section 119 of title 35, United States Code, is amended as
     follows:
       (1) In subsection (a), insert ``or in a WTO member
     country,'' after ``or citizens of the United States,''.
       (2) At the end of section 119 add the following new
     subsections:
       ``(f ) Applications for plant breeder's rights filed in a
     WTO member country (or in a foreign UPOV Contracting Party)
     shall have the same effect for the purpose of the right of
     priority under subsections (a) through (c) of this section as
     applications for patents, subject to the same conditions and
     requirements of this section as apply to applications for
     patents.
       ``(g) As used in this section--
       ``(1) the term `WTO member country' has the same meaning as
     the term is defined in section 104(b)(2) of this title; and
       ``(2) the term `UPOV Contracting Party' means a member of
     the International Convention for the Protection of New
     Varieties of Plants.''.

     SEC. 4803. CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES FOR PATENT
                   INFRINGEMENT NOT APPLICABLE.

       Section 287(c)(4) of title 35, United States Code, is
     amended by striking ``before the date of enactment of this
     subsection'' and inserting ``based on an application
     the earliest effective filing date of which is prior to
     September 30, 1996''.

     SEC. 4804. ELECTRONIC FILING AND PUBLICATIONS.

       (a) Printing of Papers Filed.--Section 22 of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``printed or
     typewritten'' and inserting ``printed, typewritten, or on an
     electronic medium''.
       (b) Publications.--Section 11(a) of title 35, United States
     Code, is amended by amending the matter preceding paragraph 1
     to read as follows:
       ``(a) The Director may publish in printed, typewritten, or
     electronic form, the following:''.
       (c) Copies of Patents for Public Libraries.--Section 13 of
     title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking
     ``printed copies of specifications and drawings of patents''
     and inserting ``copies of specifications and drawings of
     patents in printed or electronic form''.
       (d) Maintenance of Collections.--
       (1) Electronic collections.--Section 41(i)(1) of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``paper or
     microform'' and inserting ``paper, microform, or
     electronic''.
       (2) Continuation of maintenance.--The Under Secretary of
     Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United
     States Patent and Trademark Office shall not, pursuant to the
     amendment made by paragraph (1), cease to maintain, for use
     by the public, paper or microform collections of United
     States patents, foreign patent documents, and United States
     trademark registrations, except pursuant to notice and
     opportunity for public comment and except that the Director
     shall first submit a report to the Committees on the
     Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives
     detailing such plan, including a description of the
     mechanisms in place to ensure the integrity of such
     collections and the data contained therein, as well as to
     ensure prompt public access to the most current available
     information, and certifying that the implementation of such
     plan will not negatively impact the public.

     SEC. 4805. STUDY AND REPORT ON BIOLOGICAL DEPOSITS IN SUPPORT
                   OF BIOTECHNOLOGY PATENTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
     the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
     United States, in consultation with the Under Secretary of
     Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United
     States Patent and Trademark Office, shall conduct a study and
     submit a report to Congress on the potential risks to the
     United States biotechnology industry relating to biological
     deposits in support of biotechnology patents.
       (b) Contents.--The study conducted under this section shall
     include--
       (1) an examination of the risk of export and the risk of
     transfers to third parties of biological deposits, and the
     risks posed by the change to 18-month publication
     requirements made by this subtitle;
       (2) an analysis of comparative legal and regulatory
     regimes; and
       (3) any related recommendations.
       (c) Consideration of Report.--In drafting regulations
     affecting biological deposits (including any modification of
     title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.801 et
     seq.), the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall
     consider the recommendations of the study conducted under
     this section.

     SEC. 4806. PRIOR INVENTION.

       Section 102(g) of title 35, United States Code, is amended
     to read as follows:
       ``(g)(1) during the course of an interference conducted
     under section 135 or section 291, another inventor involved
     therein establishes, to the extent permitted in section 104,
     that before such person's invention thereof the invention was
     made by such other inventor and not abandoned, suppressed, or
     concealed, or (2) before such person's invention thereof, the
     invention was made in this country by another inventor who
     had not abandoned, suppressed, or concealed it. In
     determining priority of invention under this subsection,
     there shall be considered not only the respective dates of
     conception and reduction to practice of the invention, but
     also the reasonable diligence of one who was first to
     conceive and last to reduce to practice, from a time prior to
     conception by the other.''.

     SEC. 4807. PRIOR ART EXCLUSION FOR CERTAIN COMMONLY ASSIGNED
                   PATENTS.

       (a) Prior Art Exclusion.--Section 103(c) of title 35,
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``subsection (f )
     or (g)'' and inserting ``one or more of subsections (e), (f
     ), and (g)''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section
     shall apply to any application for patent filed on or after
     the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 4808. EXCHANGE OF COPIES OF PATENTS WITH FOREIGN
                   COUNTRIES.

       Section 12 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by
     adding at the end the following:

[[Page H12606]]

     ``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
     NAFTA country or a WTO member country, without the express
     authorization of the Secretary of Commerce. For purposes of
     this section, the terms `NAFTA country' and `WTO member
     country' have the meanings given those terms in section
     104(b).''.

                   TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SEC. 5001. COMMISSION ON ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION.

       (a) References.--Wherever in this section an amendment is
     expressed in terms of an amendment to any provision, the
     reference shall be considered to be made to such provision of
     section 1405 of the Child Online Protection Act (47 U.S.C.
     231 note).
       (b) Membership.--Subsection (b) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following
     new paragraph:
       ``(1) Industry members.--The Commission shall include 16
     members who shall consist of representatives of--
       ``(A) providers of Internet filtering or blocking services
     or software;
       ``(B) Internet access services;
       ``(C) labeling or ratings services;
       ``(D) Internet portal or search services;
       ``(E) domain name registration services;
       ``(F) academic experts; and
       ``(G) providers that make content available over the
     Internet.
     Of the members of the Commission by reason of this paragraph,
     an equal number shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
     House of Representatives and by the Majority Leader of the
     Senate. Members of the Commission appointed on or before
     October 31, 1999, shall remain members.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Prohibition of pay.--Members of the Commission shall
     not receive any pay by reason of their membership on the
     Commission.''.
       (c) Extension of Reporting Deadline.--The matter in
     subsection (d) that precedes paragraph (1) is amended by
     striking ``1 year'' and inserting ``2 years''.
       (d) Termination.--Subsection (f ) is amended by inserting
     before the period at the end the following: ``or November 30,
     2000, whichever occurs earlier''.
       (e) First Meeting and Chairperson.--Section 1405 is
     amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (e);
       (2) by redesignating subsections (f ) (as amended by the
     preceding provisions of this section) and (g) as subsections
     (l) and (m), respectively;
       (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) (as amended by
     the preceding provisions of this section) as subsections (e)
     and (f ), respectively; and
       (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
     subsections:
       ``(c) First Meeting.--The Commission shall hold its first
     meeting not later than March 31, 2000.
       ``(d) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Commission shall
     be elected by a vote of a majority of the members, which
     shall take place not later than 30 days after the first
     meeting of the Commission.''.
       (f ) Rules of the Commission.--Section 1405 is amended by
     inserting after subsection (f ) (as so redesignated by
     subsection (e)(3) of this section) the following new
     subsection:
       ``(g) Rules of the Commission.--
       ``(1) Quorum.--Nine members of the Commission shall
     constitute a quorum for conducting the business of the
     Commission.
       ``(2) Meetings.--Any meetings held by the Commission shall
     be duly noticed at least 14 days in advance and shall be open
     to the public.
       ``(3) Opportunities to testify.--The Commission shall
     provide opportunities for representatives of the general
     public to testify.
       ``(4) Additional rules.--The Commission may adopt other
     rules as necessary to carry out this section.''.

     SEC. 5002. PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR DONORS TO PUBLIC
                   BROADCASTING ENTITIES.

       (a) Amendment.--Section 396(k) of the Communications Act of
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 396(k)) is amended by adding at the end the
     following new paragraph:
       ``(12) Funds may not be distributed under this subsection
     to any public broadcasting entity that directly or
     indirectly--
       ``(A) rents contributor or donor names (or other personally
     identifiable information) to or from, or exchanges such names
     or information with, any Federal, State, or local candidate,
     political party, or political committee; or
       ``(B) discloses contributor or donor names, or other
     personally identifiable information, to any nonaffiliated
     third party unless--
       ``(i) such entity clearly and conspicuously discloses to
     the contributor or donor that such information may be
     disclosed to such third party;
       ``(ii) the contributor or donor is given the opportunity,
     before the time that such information is initially disclosed,
     to direct that such information not be disclosed to such
     third party; and
       ``(iii) the contributor or donor is given an explanation of
     how the contributor or donor may exercise that nondisclosure
     option.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
     shall apply with respect to funds distributed on or after 6
     months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 5003. COMPLETION OF BIENNIAL REGULATORY REVIEW.

       Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
     Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall complete the
     first biennial review required by section 202(h) of the
     Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104; 110 Stat.
     111).

     SEC. 5004. PUBLIC BROADCASTING ENTITIES.

       (a) Civil Remittance of Damages.--Section 1203(c)(5)(B) of
     title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) Nonprofit library, archives, educational
     institutions, or public broadcasting entities.--
       ``(i) Definition.--In this subparagraph, the term `public
     broadcasting entity' has the meaning given such term under
     section 118(g).
       ``(ii) In general.--In the case of a nonprofit library,
     archives, educational institution, or public broadcasting
     entity, the court shall remit damages in any case in which
     the library, archives, educational institution, or public
     broadcasting entity sustains the burden of proving, and the
     court finds, that the library, archives, educational
     institution, or public broadcasting entity was not aware and
     had no reason to believe that its acts constituted a
     violation.''.
       (b) Criminal Offenses and Penalties.--Section 1204(b) of
     title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Limitation for Nonprofit Library, Archives,
     Educational Institution, or Public Broadcasting Entity.--
     Subsection (a) shall not apply to a nonprofit library,
     archives, educational institution, or public broadcasting
     entity (as defined under section 118(g).''.

     SEC. 5005. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS RELATING TO VESSEL HULL
                   DESIGN PROTECTION.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Section 504(a) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
     (Public Law 105-304) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(a) In General.--Not later than November 1, 2003, the
     Register of Copyrights and the Commissioner of Patents and
     Trademarks shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of
     the Senate and the House of Representatives a joint report
     evaluating the effect of the amendments made by this
     title.''.
       (2) Section 505 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is
     amended by striking ``and shall remain in effect'' and all
     that follows through the end of the section and inserting a
     period.
       (3) Section 1301(b)(3) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) A `vessel' is a craft--
       ``(A) that is designed and capable of independently
     steering a course on or through water through its own means
     of propulsion; and
       ``(B) that is designed and capable of carrying and
     transporting one or more passengers.''.
       (4) Section 1313(c) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended by adding at the end the following: ``Costs of the
     cancellation procedure under this subsection shall be borne
     by the nonprevailing party or parties, and the Administrator
     shall have the authority to assess and collect such costs.''.
       (b) Tariff Act of 1930.--Section 337 of the Tariff Act of
     1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and (D)'' and
     inserting ``(D), and (E)''; and
       (ii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) The importation into the United States, the sale for
     importation, or the sale within the United States after
     importation by the owner, importer, or consigner, of an
     article that constitutes infringement of the exclusive rights
     in a design protected under chapter 13 of title 17, United
     States Code.''; and
       (B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ``or mask work''
     and inserting ``mask work, or design''; and
       (2) in subsection (l), by striking ``or mask work'' each
     place it appears and inserting ``mask work, or design''.

     SEC. 5006. INFORMAL RULEMAKING OF COPYRIGHT DETERMINATION.

       Section 1201(a)(1)(C) of title 17, United States Code, is
     amended in the first sentence by striking ``on the record''.

     SEC. 5007. SERVICE OF PROCESS FOR SURETY CORPORATIONS.

       Section 9306 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a) by striking all beginning with
     ``designates a person by written power of attorney'' through
     the end of such subsection and inserting the following: ``has
     a resident agent for service of process for that district.
     The resident agent--
       ``(1) may be an official of the State, the District of
     Columbia, the territory or possession in which the court sits
     who is authorized or appointed under the law of the State,
     District, territory or possession to receive service of
     process on the corporation; or
       ``(2) may be an individual who resides in the jurisdiction
     of the district court for the district in which a surety bond
     is to be provided and who is appointed by the corporation as
     provided in subsection (b)''; and
       (2) in subsection (b) by striking ``The'' and inserting
     ``If the surety corporation meets the requirement of
     subsection (a) by appointing an individual under subsection
     (a)(2), the''.

     SEC. 5008. LOW-POWER TELEVISION.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
     ``Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Since the creation of low-power television licenses by
     the Federal Communications Commission, a small number of
     license holders have operated their stations in a manner
     beneficial to the public good providing broadcasting to their
     communities that would not otherwise be available.
       (2) These low-power broadcasters have operated their
     stations in a manner consistent with the programming
     objectives and hours of operation of full-power broadcasters
     providing

[[Page H12607]]

     worthwhile services to their respective communities while
     under severe license limitations compared to their full-
     power counterparts.
       (3) License limitations, particularly the temporary nature
     of the license, have blocked many low-power broadcasters from
     having access to capital, and have severely hampered their
     ability to continue to provide quality broadcasting,
     programming, or improvements.
       (4) The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has
     added to the uncertainty of the future status of these
     stations by the lack of specific provisions regarding the
     permanency of their licenses, or their treatment during the
     transition to high definition, digital television.
       (5) It is in the public interest to promote diversity in
     television programming such as that currently provided by
     low-power television stations to foreign-language
     communities.
       (c) Preservation of Low-Power Community Television
     Broadcasting.--Section 336 of the Communications Act of 1934
     (47 U.S.C. 336) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (f ) and (g) as
     subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
     subsection:
       ``(f ) Preservation of Low-Power Community Television
     Broadcasting.--
       ``(1) Creation of class a licenses.--
       ``(A) Rulemaking Required.--Within 120 days after the date
     of the enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act
     of 1999, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to
     establish a class A television license to be available to
     licensees of qualifying low-power television stations. Such
     regulations shall provide that--
       ``(i) the license shall be subject to the same license
     terms and renewal standards as the licenses for full-power
     television stations except as provided in this subsection;
     and
       ``(ii) each such class A licensee shall be accorded primary
     status as a television broadcaster as long as the station
     continues to meet the requirements for a qualifying low-power
     station in paragraph (2).
       ``(B) Notice to and certification by licensees.--Within 30
     days after the date of the enactment of the Community
     Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall
     send a notice to the licensees of all low-power televisions
     licenses that describes the requirements for class A
     designation. Within 60 days after such date of enactment,
     licensees intending to seek class A designation shall submit
     to the Commission a certification of eligibility based on the
     qualification requirements of this subsection. Absent a
     material deficiency, the Commission shall grant certification
     of eligibility to apply for class A status.
       ``(C) Application for and award of licenses.--Consistent
     with the requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(A) of this
     subsection, a licensee may submit an application for class A
     designation under this paragraph within 30 days after final
     regulations are adopted under subparagraph (A) of this
     paragraph. Except as provided in paragraphs (6) and (7), the
     Commission shall, within 30 days after receipt of an
     application of a licensee of a qualifying low-power
     television station that is acceptable for filing, award such
     a class A television station license to such licensee.
       ``(D) Resolution of technical problems.--The Commission
     shall act to preserve the service areas of low-power
     television licensees pending the final resolution of a class
     A application. If, after granting certification of
     eligibility for a class A license, technical problems arise
     requiring an engineering solution to a full-power station's
     allotted parameters or channel assignment in the digital
     television Table of Allotments, the Commission shall make
     such modifications as necessary--
       ``(i) to ensure replication of the full-power digital
     television applicant's service area, as provided for in
     sections 73.622 and 73.623 of the Commission's regulations
     (47 CFR 73.622, 73.623); and
       ``(ii) to permit maximization of a full-power digital
     television applicant's service area consistent with such
     sections 73.622 and 73.623,
     if such applicant has filed an application for maximization
     or a notice of its intent to seek such maximization by
     December 31, 1999, and filed a bona fide application for
     maximization by May 1, 2000. Any such applicant shall comply
     with all applicable Commission rules regarding the
     construction of digital television facilities.
       ``(E) Change applications.--If a station that is awarded a
     construction permit to maximize or significantly enhance its
     digital television service area, later files a change
     application to reduce its digital television service area,
     the protected contour of that station shall be reduced in
     accordance with such change modification.
       ``(2) Qualifying low-power television stations.--For
     purposes of this subsection, a station is a qualifying low-
     power television station if--
       ``(A)(i) during the 90 days preceding the date of the
     enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of
     1999--
       ``(I) such station broadcast a minimum of 18 hours per day;
       ``(II) such station broadcast an average of at least 3
     hours per week of programming that was produced within the
     market area served by such station, or the market area served
     by a group of commonly controlled low-power stations that
     carry common local programming produced within the market
     area served by such group; and
       ``(III) such station was in compliance with the
     Commission's requirements applicable to low-power television
     stations; and
       ``(ii) from and after the date of its application for a
     class A license, the station is in compliance with the
     Commission's operating rules for full-power television
     stations; or
       ``(B) the Commission determines that the public interest,
     convenience, and necessity would be served by treating the
     station as a qualifying low-power television station for
     purposes of this section, or for other reasons determined by
     the Commission.
       ``(3) Common ownership.--No low-power television station
     authorized as of the date of the enactment of the Community
     Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 shall be disqualified for
     a class A license based on common ownership with any other
     medium of mass communication.
       ``(4) Issuance of licenses for advanced television services
     to television translator stations and qualifying low-power
     television stations.--The Commission is not required to issue
     any additional license for advanced television services to
     the licensee of a class A television station under this
     subsection, or to any licensee of any television translator
     station, but shall accept a license application for such
     services proposing facilities that will not cause
     interference to the service area of any other broadcast
     facility applied for, protected, permitted, or authorized on
     the date of filing of the advanced television application.
     Such new license or the original license of the applicant
     shall be forfeited after the end of the digital television
     service transition period, as determined by the Commission. A
     licensee of a low-power television station or television
     translator station may, at the option of licensee, elect to
     convert to the provision of advanced television services on
     its analog channel, but shall not be required to convert to
     digital operation until the end of such transition period.
       ``(5) No preemption of section 337.--Nothing in this
     subsection preempts or otherwise affects section 337 of this
     Act.
       ``(6) Interim qualification.--
       ``(A) Stations operating within certain bandwidth.--The
     Commission may not grant a class A license to a low-power
     television station for operation between 698 and 806
     megahertz, but the Commission shall provide to low-power
     television stations assigned to and temporarily operating in
     that bandwidth the opportunity to meet the qualification
     requirements for a class A license. If such a qualified
     applicant for a class A license is assigned a channel within
     the core spectrum (as such term is defined in MM Docket No.
     87-286, February 17, 1998), the Commission shall issue a
     class A license simultaneously with the assignment of such
     channel.
       ``(B) Certain channels off-limits.--The Commission may not
     grant under this subsection a class A license to a low-power
     television station operating on a channel within the core
     spectrum that includes any of the 175 additional channels
     referenced in paragraph 45 of its February 23, 1998,
     Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration of the Sixth
     Report and Order (MM Docket No. 87-268). Within 18 months
     after the date of the enactment of the Community Broadcasters
     Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall identify by
     channel, location, and applicable technical parameters those
     175 channels.
       ``(7) No interference requirement.--The Commission may not
     grant a class A license, nor approve a modification of a
     class A license, unless the applicant or licensee shows that
     the class A station for which the license or modification is
     sought will not cause--
       ``(A) interference within--
       ``(i) the predicted Grade B contour (as of the date of the
     enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of
     1999, or November 1, 1999, whichever is later, or as proposed
     in a change application filed on or before such date) of any
     television station transmitting in analog format; or
       ``(ii)(I) the digital television service areas provided in
     the DTV Table of Allotments; (II) the areas protected in the
     Commission's digital television regulations (47 CFR 73.622(e)
     and (f )); (III) the digital television service areas of
     stations subsequently granted by the Commission prior to the
     filing of a class A application; and (IV) stations seeking to
     maximize power under the Commission's rules, if such station
     has complied with the notification requirements in paragraph
     (1)(D);
       ``(B) interference within the protected contour of any low-
     power television station or low-power television translator
     station that--
       ``(i) was licensed prior to the date on which the
     application for a class A license, or for the modification of
     such a license, was filed;
       ``(ii) was authorized by construction permit prior to such
     date; or
       ``(iii) had a pending application that was submitted prior
     to such date; or
       ``(C) interference within the protected contour of 80 miles
     from the geographic center of the areas listed in section
     22.625(b)(1) or 90.303 of the Commission's regulations (47
     CFR 22.625(b)(1) and 90.303) for frequencies in--
       ``(i) the 470-512 megahertz band identified in
     section 22.621 or 90.303 of such regulations; or
       ``(ii) the 482-488 megahertz band in New York.
       ``(8) Priority for displaced low-power stations.--Low-power
     stations that are displaced by an application filed under
     this section shall have priority over other low-power
     stations in the assignment of available channels.''.

                  TITLE VI--SUPERFUND RECYCLING EQUITY

     SEC. 6001. SUPERFUND RECYCLING EQUITY.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
       (1) to promote the reuse and recycling of scrap material in
     furtherance of the goals of waste minimization and natural
     resource conservation while protecting human health and the
     environment;
       (2) to create greater equity in the statutory treatment of
     recycled versus virgin materials; and
       (3) to remove the disincentives and impediments to
     recycling created as an unintended consequence of the 1980
     Superfund liability provisions.

[[Page H12608]]

       (b) Clarification of Liability Under CERCLA for Recycling
     Transactions.--
       (1) Clarification.--Title I of the Comprehensive
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
     1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
     the following new section:

     ``SEC. 127. RECYCLING TRANSACTIONS.

       ``(a) Liability Clarification.--
       ``(1) As provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), a
     person who arranged for recycling of recyclable material
     shall not be liable under sections 107(a)(3) and 107(a)(4)
     with respect to such material.
       ``(2) A determination whether or not any person shall be
     liable under section 107(a)(3) or section 107(a)(4) for any
     material that is not a recyclable material as that term is
     used in subsections (b) and (c), (d), or (e) of this section
     shall be made, without regard to subsections (b), (c), (d),
     or (e) of this section.
       ``(b) Recyclable Material Defined.--For purposes of this
     section, the term `recyclable material' means scrap paper,
     scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, scrap rubber
     (other than whole tires), scrap metal, or spent lead-acid,
     spent nickel-cadmium, and other spent batteries, as well as
     minor amounts of material incident to or adhering to the
     scrap material as a result of its normal and customary use
     prior to becoming scrap; except that such term shall not
     include--
       ``(1) shipping containers of a capacity from 30 liters to
     3,000 liters, whether intact or not, having any hazardous
     substance (but not metal bits and pieces or hazardous
     substance that form an integral part of the container)
     contained in or adhering thereto; or
       ``(2) any item of material that contained polychlorinated
     biphenyls at a concentration in excess of 50 parts per
     million or any new standard promulgated pursuant to
     applicable Federal laws.
       ``(c) Transactions Involving Scrap Paper, Plastic, Glass,
     Textiles, or Rubber.--Transactions involving scrap paper,
     scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, or scrap rubber
     (other than whole tires) shall be deemed to be arranging for
     recycling if the person who arranged for the transaction (by
     selling recyclable material or otherwise arranging for the
     recycling of recyclable material) can demonstrate by a
     preponderance of the evidence that all of the following
     criteria were met at the time of the transaction:
       ``(1) The recyclable material met a commercial
     specification grade.
       ``(2) A market existed for the recyclable material.
       ``(3) A substantial portion of the recyclable material was
     made available for use as feedstock for the manufacture of a
     new saleable product.
       ``(4) The recyclable material could have been a replacement
     or substitute for a virgin raw material, or the product to be
     made from the recyclable material could have been a
     replacement or substitute for a product made, in whole or in
     part, from a virgin raw material.
       ``(5) For transactions occurring 90 days or more after the
     date of enactment of this section, the person exercised
     reasonable care to determine that the facility where the
     recyclable material was handled, processed, reclaimed, or
     otherwise managed by another person (hereinafter in this
     section referred to as a `consuming facility') was in
     compliance with substantive (not procedural or
     administrative) provisions of any Federal, State, or local
     environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or
     decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the
     handling, processing, reclamation, storage, or other
     management activities associated with recyclable material.
       ``(6) For purposes of this subsection, `reasonable care'
     shall be determined using criteria that include (but are not
     limited to)--
       ``(A) the price paid in the recycling transaction;
       ``(B) the ability of the person to detect the nature of the
     consuming facility's operations concerning its handling,
     processing, reclamation, or other management activities
     associated with recyclable material; and
       ``(C) the result of inquiries made to the appropriate
     Federal, State, or local environmental agency (or agencies)
     regarding the consuming facility's past and current
     compliance with substantive (not procedural or
     administrative) provisions of any Federal, State, or local
     environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or
     decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling,
     processing, reclamation, storage, or other management
     activities associated with the recyclable material. For the
     purposes of this paragraph, a requirement to obtain a permit
     applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other
     management activity associated with the recyclable materials
     shall be deemed to be a substantive provision.
       ``(d) Transactions Involving Scrap Metal.--
       ``(1) Transactions involving scrap metal shall be deemed to
     be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged for the
     transaction (by selling recyclable material or otherwise
     arranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can
     demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that at the
     time of the transaction--
       ``(A) the person met the criteria set forth in subsection
     (c) with respect to the scrap metal;
       ``(B) the person was in compliance with any applicable
     regulations or standards regarding the storage, transport,
     management, or other activities associated with the recycling
     of scrap metal that the Administrator promulgates under the
     Solid Waste Disposal Act subsequent to the enactment of this
     section and with regard to transactions occurring after the
     effective date of such regulations or standards; and
       ``(C) the person did not melt the scrap metal prior to the
     transaction.
       ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), melting of scrap
     metal does not include the thermal separation of 2 or more
     materials due to differences in their melting points
     (referred to as `sweating').
       ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `scrap
     metal' means bits and pieces of metal parts (e.g., bars,
     turnings, rods, sheets, wire) or metal pieces that may be
     combined together with bolts or soldering (e.g., radiators,
     scrap automobiles, railroad box cars), which when worn or
     superfluous can be recycled, except for scrap metals that the
     Administrator excludes from this definition by regulation.
       ``(e) Transactions Involving Batteries.--Transactions
     involving spent lead-acid batteries, spent nickel-cadmium
     batteries, or other spent batteries shall be deemed to be
     arranging for recycling if the person who arranged for the
     transaction (by selling recyclable material or otherwise
     arranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can
     demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that at the
     time of the transaction--
       ``(1) the person met the criteria set forth in subsection
     (c) with respect to the spent lead-acid batteries, spent
     nickel-cadmium batteries, or other spent batteries, but the
     person did not recover the valuable components of such
     batteries; and
       ``(2)(A) with respect to transactions involving lead-acid
     batteries, the person was in compliance with applicable
     Federal environmental regulations or standards, and any
     amendments thereto, regarding the storage, transport,
     management, or other activities associated with the recycling
     of spent lead-acid batteries;
       ``(B) with respect to transactions involving nickel-cadmium
     batteries, Federal environmental regulations or standards are
     in effect regarding the storage, transport, management, or
     other activities associated with the recycling of spent
     nickel-cadmium batteries, and the person was in compliance
     with applicable regulations or standards or any amendments
     thereto; or
       ``(C) with respect to transactions involving other spent
     batteries, Federal environmental regulations or standards are
     in effect regarding the storage, transport, management, or
     other activities associated with the recycling of such
     batteries, and the person was in compliance with applicable
     regulations or standards or any amendments thereto.
       ``(f) Exclusions.--
       ``(1) The exemptions set forth in subsections (c), (d), and
     (e) shall not apply if--
       ``(A) the person had an objectively reasonable basis to
     believe at the time of the recycling transaction--
       ``(i) that the recyclable material would not be recycled;
       ``(ii) that the recyclable material would be burned as
     fuel, or for energy recovery or incineration; or
       ``(iii) for transactions occurring before 90 days after the
     date of the enactment of this section, that the consuming
     facility was not in compliance with a substantive (not
     procedural or administrative) provision of any Federal,
     State, or local environmental law or regulation, or
     compliance order or decree issued pursuant thereto,
     applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other
     management activities associated with the recyclable
     material;
       ``(B) the person had reason to believe that hazardous
     substances had been added to the recyclable material for
     purposes other than processing for recycling; or
       ``(C) the person failed to exercise reasonable care with
     respect to the management and handling of the recyclable
     material (including adhering to customary industry practices
     current at the time of the recycling transaction designed to
     minimize, through source control, contamination of the
     recyclable material by hazardous substances).
       ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, an objectively
     reasonable basis for belief shall be determined using
     criteria that include (but are not limited to) the size of
     the person's business, customary industry practices
     (including customary industry practices current at the time
     of the recycling transaction designed to minimize, through
     source control, contamination of the recyclable material by
     hazardous substances), the price paid in the recycling
     transaction, and the ability of the person to detect the
     nature of the consuming facility's operations concerning its
     handling, processing, reclamation, or other management
     activities associated with the recyclable material.
       ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, a requirement to
     obtain a permit applicable to the handling, processing,
     reclamation, or other management activities associated with
     recyclable material shall be deemed to be a substantive
     provision.
       ``(g) Effect on Other Liability.--Nothing in this section
     shall be deemed to affect the liability of a person under
     paragraph (1) or (2) of section 107(a).
       ``(h) Regulations.--The Administrator has the authority,
     under section 115, to promulgate additional regulations
     concerning this section.
       ``(i) Effect on Pending or Concluded Actions.--The
     exemptions provided in this section shall not affect any
     concluded judicial or administrative action or any pending
     judicial action initiated by the United States prior to
     enactment of this section.
       ``(j) Liability for Attorney's Fees for Certain Actions.--
     Any person who commences an action in contribution against a
     person who is not liable by operation of this section shall
     be liable to that person for all reasonable costs of
     defending that action, including all reasonable attorney's
     and expert witness fees.
       ``(k) Relationship to Liability Under Other Laws.--Nothing
     in this section shall affect--
       ``(1) liability under any other Federal, State, or local
     statute or regulation promulgated pursuant to any such
     statute, including any requirements promulgated by the
     Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; or

[[Page H12609]]

       ``(2) the ability of the Administrator to promulgate
     regulations under any other statute, including the Solid
     Waste Disposal Act.
       ``(l) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in
     this section shall be construed to--
       ``(1) affect any defenses or liabilities of any person to
     whom subsection (a)(1) does not apply; or
       ``(2) create any presumption of liability against any
     person to whom subsection (a)(1) does not apply.''
       (2) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents for title I
     of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following
     item:

  ``Sec. 127. Recycling transactions.''.
     Bill Young.
     Jerry Lewis.
                                Managers on the Part of the House.

     Ted Stevens.
     Pete Domenici.
     Kay Bailey Hutchison.
                               Managers on the Part of the Senate.

