Lamar Smith: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, the manager's amendment consists of numerous technical edits and…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, the manager's amendment consists of numerous technical edits and other improvements to the bill. Some of the highlights include the following provisions: Expansion and clarification of prior-user rights under section 273 of the Patent Act. Institutions of higher education qualify for ``micro-entity'' status when paying fees. In other words, an inventor who works for a university or who assigns or conveys an invention to a university qualifies for lower micro-entity fee status. Consolidation of numerous PTO reporting requirements. Inclusion of ``Weldon amendment'' language that forbids the patenting of inventions ``directed to or encompassing a human organism.'' This language has been part of the CJS appropriations legislation for years. It's directed as preventing the PTO from approving inventions related to human cloning. And deletion of a provision that provides special treatment to one company that wants to get additional patent term protection from the PTO. These and other changes in the manager's amendment smooth out a few rough edges and improve the overall bill. I reserve the balance of my time.”