Innovation Protection Act
Latest action · May 15, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 16, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Innovation Protection Act
Establishes in the Treasury the United States Patent and Trademark Office Public Enterprise Fund (Public Enterprise Fund) to be used as a revolving fund by the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) without fiscal year limitation.
Requires to be credited to or deposited in the Public Enterprise Fund: (1) appropriations for defraying the costs of USPTO activities; (2) fees collected under federal patent and trademark laws; and (3) any unobligated balances remaining in the Patent and Trademark Office Appropriation Account and in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund. (Thus, replaces the Patent and Trademark Office Appropriation Account, eliminates the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund, and provides a source of permanent funding for the USPTO.)
Requires fees collected by the Director to remain available to the Director until expended.
Makes the Public Enterprise Fund available to cover: (1) ordinary and reasonable administrative, operating, and other expenses incurred by the Director for the continued operation of USPTO services, programs, activities, and duties relating to patents and trademarks; and (2) expenses incurred pursuant to obligations, representations, or other commitments of the USPTO.
Requires the Director, on an annual basis, to: (1) report to Congress with operation and spending plans, including financial details and staff levels broken down by each major activity; (2) provide for an independent audit of USPTO financial statements; and (3) submit a budget to the President.
Cosponsors 22
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 16, 2015 to Jul 16, 2015; 8 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Dana Rohrabacher | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| R-GA | Doug Collins | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| R-WI | F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-NY | Hakeem S. Jeffries | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| R-AZ | Trent Franks | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Apr 22, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | May 12, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | May 12, 2015 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | May 14, 2015 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | May 14, 2015 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | May 14, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Jun 9, 2015 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Jun 9, 2015 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Jun 11, 2015 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Jun 23, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Jun 24, 2015 | |
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Jul 13, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Jul 13, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Jul 16, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Apr 16, 2015 |
| Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee | Referred May 15, 2015 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 15, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
- Apr 16, 2015Introduced in House
- Apr 16, 2015Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E524)
- Apr 16, 2015Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E524 | John Conyers, Jr. D-MI | Apr 16, 2015 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 55, April 16, 2015, page H2308.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for the permanent funding of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Innovation Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 16, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
