[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5796 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.5796

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two


                                 An Act


 
  To amend title 35, United States Code, to establish a competition to 
award certificates that can be redeemed to accelerate certain matters at 
        the Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Patents for Humanity Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. AWARD OF CERTIFICATES TO ACCELERATE CERTAIN MATTERS AT THE 
PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE.
    (a) Award.--Chapter 2 of title 35, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 28. Award of certificates to accelerate certain matters at the 
  Patent and Trademark Office
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `eligible entity' 
means an entity that--
        ``(1) submits an application under subsection (d) for a patent 
    that addresses a humanitarian issue; and
        ``(2) meets the requirements specified by the Director.
    ``(b) Establishment.--There is established a competition, to be 
held not less frequently than biennially, to award eligible entities 
certificates that can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following 
matters:
        ``(1) An ex parte reexamination proceeding, including 1 appeal 
    to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board from that proceeding.
        ``(2) An application for a patent, including 1 appeal to the 
    Patent Trial and Appeal Board from that application.
        ``(3) An appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of a claim 
    twice rejected in a patent application or reissue application or 
    finally rejected in an ex parte reexamination, without accelerating 
    the underlying matter that generated the appeal.
        ``(4) A matter identified by the Director.
    ``(c) Administration.--The Director shall administer the 
competition established under subsection (b).
    ``(d) Application.--An entity seeking an award under subsection (b) 
shall submit to the Director an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Director may require.
    ``(e) Promotion of Competition.--The Director shall promote the 
competition established under subsection (b) through the satellite 
offices established pursuant to section 1.
    ``(f) Treatment as Successor.--The competition established under 
subsection (b) shall be treated as a successor to the Patents for 
Humanity Program (established in the notice entitled `Humanitarian 
Awards Pilot Program', published at 77 Fed. Reg. 6544 (February 8, 
2012)).''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section, or the 
amendments made by this section, may be construed as affecting any 
action taken by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 
Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
before the date of enactment of this Act with respect to the 
administration of the Patents for Humanity Program established in the 
notice entitled ``Humanitarian Awards Pilot Program'', published at 77 
Fed. Reg. 6544 (February 8, 2012).
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 2 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
``28. Award of certificates to accelerate certain matters at the Patent 
          and Trademark Office.''.


                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.