A bill to amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to make it clear that any person who makes an invention in connection with the production or modification of materials, equipment, or facilities which (under contract with NASA) are to be transported into orbit or into space shall retain all patent rights to such invention if NASA's functions with respect to such materials, equipment, or facilities are limited (under the contract) to the furnishing of such transportation.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to state that any person who makes an invention in connection with the production or modification of materials, equipment, or facilities which (under contract with NASA) are to be transported into orbit or into space shall retain all patent rights to such invention if NASA's functions with respect to such materials, equipment, or facilities are limited (under the contract) to the furnishing of such transportation. Directs the Administrator of NASA, upon request, to transfer such patent rights acquired by the United States before the enactment of this provision to the appropriate person.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 14, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 14, 1979: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RON PAUL (R-TX) introduced it on November 14, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 14, 1979, 17102 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17102 days ago, on November 14, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers