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HR 3114 111th Congress House

To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and…

Official title: To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.

Introduced: July 7, 2009 See on congress.gov
Commerce Congressional oversightDepartment of CommerceExecutive agency funding and structureGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management
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Intellectual propertyUser charges and fees
 Everywhere this bill has been 18 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 7, 2009
Signed by President.
Aug 7, 2009
Became Public Law No: 111-45.
Jul 27, 2009
Presented to President.
Jul 20, 2009
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Jul 16, 2009
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S7664)
Jul 16, 2009
Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7664)
Jul 16, 2009
Cleared for White House.
Jul 8, 2009
Received in the Senate, read twice.
Jul 7, 2009
Mr. Johnson (GA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
Jul 7, 2009
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7723-7724)
Jul 7, 2009
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Jul 7, 2009
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7723)
Jul 7, 2009
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H7723)
Jul 7, 2009
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H7725)
Jul 7, 2009
At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Poe (TX) objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.
Jul 7, 2009
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3114.
Jul 7, 2009
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jul 7, 2009
Introduced in House
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 Latest action August 7, 2009

Became Public Law No: 111-45.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Authorizes the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to use funds made available for FY2009 under the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 to support the processing of patents and other activities, services, and materials relating to patents, notwithstanding provisions restricting the use of such fees to activities relating trademark registrations, provided the Director certifies to Congress that the use of such funds is reasonably necessary to avoid USPTO furloughs or a reduction-in-force, or both, and does not create a substantial risk of a furlough or reduction-in-force of personnel working in the Trademark Operation of the USPTO.

Requires the Director, on the exercise of that authority and notwithstanding any other law, to establish a surcharge on patent fees to repay any funds drawn down.

Terminates such authority on June 30, 2010. Requires: (1) the surcharge to begin no later than September 30, 2011; and (2) the funds so used to be repaid to trademark operations not later than September 30, 2014.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3114: To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-3114/
MLA
"H.R. 3114: To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-3114/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3114, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-3114/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3114: To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-3114/)
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