Sec. 8. Studies on patent transactions, quality, and examination
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The Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the heads of other relevant agencies, and interested parties, shall, using existing resources of the Office, conduct a study— to develop legislative recommendations to ensure greater transparency and accountability in patent transactions occurring on the secondary market; to examine the economic impact that the patent secondary market has on the United States; to examine licensing and other oversight requirements that may be placed on the patent secondary market, including on the participants in such markets, to ensure that the market is a level playing field and that brokers in the market have the requisite expertise and adhere to ethical business practices; and to examine the requirements placed on other markets.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on the findings and recommendations of the Director from the study required under paragraph (1). The Director, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies and interested parties, shall, using existing resources of the Office, conduct a study on patents owned by the United States Government that— examines how such patents are licensed and sold, and any litigation relating to the licensing or sale of such patents; provides legislative and administrative recommendations on whether there should be restrictions placed on patents acquired from the United States Government; examines whether or not each relevant agency maintains adequate records on the patents owned by such agency, specifically whether such agency addresses licensing, assignment, and Government grants for technology related to such patents; and provides recommendations to ensure that each relevant agency has an adequate point of contact that is responsible for managing the patent portfolio of the agency.
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the findings and recommendations of the Director from the study required under paragraph (1). The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on patent examination at the Office and the technologies available to improve examination and improve patent quality.
The study required under paragraph
(1)shall include the following: An examination of patent quality at the Office. An examination of ways to improve quality, specifically through technology, that shall include examining best practices at foreign patent offices and the use of existing off-the-shelf technologies to improve patent examination. A description of how patents are classified. An examination of procedures in place to prevent double patenting through filing by applicants in multiple art areas. An examination of the types of off-the-shelf prior art databases and search software used by foreign patent offices and governments, particularly in Europe and Asia, and whether those databases and search tools could be used by the Office to improve patent examination. An examination of any other areas the Comptroller General determines to be relevant. Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the findings and recommendations from the study required by this subsection, including recommendations for any changes to laws and regulations that will improve the examination of patent applications and patent quality.