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A bill to authorize appropriations for the Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce, and for other purposes.

Public Law 100-703 · H.R. 4972 · 100th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Nov 19, 1988 · Commerce

Sponsor: Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-WI-2)

Cosponsors (1): Rep. Carlos Moorhead

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

(House agreed to Senate amendments with amendments)

Title I: Patent and Trademark Office Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations to the Patent and Trademark Office for FY 1989 through 1991.

Prohibits the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks from increasing or establishing additional patent and trademark fees during FY 1989 through 1991. Allows cost-of-living adjustments according to the Consumer Price Index. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress regarding patent and trademark fee expenditures and collections, budget plans, and surplus fees.

Repeals the prohibition against the imposition of a fee for the use of public patent and trademark search rooms and libraries.

Directs the Commissioner to make U.S. patent and trademark information (and foreign patent documents) available for public search and retrieval. Prohibits the Commissioner from imposing fees for the use of such collections or for the use of public patent trademark search rooms or libraries. Authorizes the Commissioner to establish fees for public access to automated search systems of the Patent and Trademark Office. Provides for a limited amount of free access to all users of such systems for education and training purposes. Authorizes the Commissioner to waive fee payments by individuals upon a show of need or hardship if such waiver is in the public interest.

Authorizes the Patent and Trademark Office to use fee revenues for its activities.

Prohibits the Commissioner from: (1) entering during FY 1989 through 1991 into any agreement for the exchange of items or services related to automatic data processing resources; or (2) continuing existing agreements for such exchange after the date of enactment of this Act, except an agreement with a foreign government or an international intergovernmental organization.

Title II: Patent Misuse Reform - Amends Federal patent law to permit a patent holder to: (1) refuse to license or use any rights to a patent; or (2) condition the license of any rights to the patent or its sale on the acquisition of the licensing rights in another patent or the purchase of a separate patent, unless, in the circumstances, the patent owner has market power in the relevant market for the patent or patented product on which the license or sale is conditioned.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

  • Judiciary Committee · House · markup by, referred toSubcommittee: Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee
  • Judiciary Committee · Senate · discharged from, referred to
Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.

  1. Nov 19, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-703.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Nov 10, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 21, 1988Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House to the Senate amendment by Voice Vote.
  5. Oct 20, 1988Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Concurred, in Senate Amendments , with Amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Oct 14, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  7. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  8. CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Judiciary Committee
  9. Oct 6, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
  10. Oct 5, 1988FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  11. Sep 30, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
  12. CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  13. Jul 27, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  14. Jul 7, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  15. Jun 30, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
  16. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.