S.1540
Full Patent Term Preservation Act of 1996
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01/26/1995 Inroduced in Senate
02/01/1996 - Professional Inventor's Alliance
S.1540 seeks to cure two "problems" with H.R.359 and S.284 (The Patent Term Restoration Bills). However, these two "problems" are fictional (strawmen) "problems" that do not exist. S.1540 results from erroneous information provided to the Senate by those who wish to weaken the American patent system.
The first fiction is that H.R.359 and S.284 "allows each applicant to select the way in which the patent term will be measured" [1]. This is erroneous. There is no selection, neither by the applicant, nor by the Patent Office, nor by anyone else. H.R.359 and S.284 use language similar to that used in the GATT legislation, the later of 17 years from issuance or 20 years from filing [2].
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