Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 - Amends federal patent law to implement the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs and the Patent Law Treaty. (Both treaties were ratified by the Senate on December 7, 2007.)
Allows any person who is a U.S. national, or has a domicile, habitual residence, or real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the United States, to file an international design application for international registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (thereby enabling U.S. applicants to file a single application with USPTO instead of separate applications in multiple countries).
Directs the USPTO to transmit international fees and forward international design applications to the international intergovernmental coordinating body.
Requires an international design application on an industrial design made in the United States to constitute the filing of an application in a foreign country if such application is filed: (1) in a country other than the United States, (2) at the international intergovernmental coordinating body recognized under the Hague Agreement, or (3) with an intergovernmental organization.
Sets forth the priorities of national and prior foreign and national applications.
Standardizes application procedures to be consistent with other member countries.
Extends the term for design patents from 14 to 15 years from the date of grant.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 19, 2012. 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 September 19, 2012: Referred to the 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
LAMAR SMITH (R-TX) introduced it on September 19, 2012, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 September 19, 2012, 5104 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5104 days ago, on September 19, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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