United States · Amendment · HAMDT

HAMDT 24 (105th)

An amendment in the nature of a substitute, printed as amendment No. 11 in the Congressional Record of April 16, 1997, to establish a firm 17-year patent for inventions beginning from the date the patents are granted, or a 20-year patent term from the date on which patent applications are filed for approval. The amendment would also allow patent applications to be published only under the following circumstances: when the information in the application is in the public domain of other countries at the time of U.S. filing; when an application that has been on file for five years, but a patent has not yet been granted, and publication would serve the national interest; when the inventor deliberately withholds publication for the purpose of taking legal action against persons or companies who unknowingly file similar patents.