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To enhance fairness in compensating owners of patents used by the United States.

Public Law 104-308 · H.R. 632 · 104th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 19, 1996 · Law

Sponsor: Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX-24)

Cosponsors (2): Rep. Jack Fields,

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateUnanimous consent
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.

Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that, for purposes of compensating an owner of a patent for an invention that is used or manufactured unlawfully by or for the United States, reasonable and entire compensation shall include the owner's reasonable costs, including reasonable fees for expert witnesses and attorneys, in pursuing action against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims if the owner is an independent inventor, a nonprofit organization, or an entity that had no more than 500 employees at any time during the five-year period preceding such use or manufacture.

Provides that reasonable and entire compensation shall not include such costs and fees if the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances made an award unjust unless the action has been pending for more than ten years from the time of filing to the time that the owner applies for such costs and fees.

Committees

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

  • Judiciary Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: 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. 21 actions.

  1. Oct 19, 1996Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 104-308.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 10, 1996PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 4, 1996Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to without objection.
  6. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Solomon asked unanimous consent that the House agree to the Senate amendments.
  7. Oct 3, 1996FloorFloor · Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  8. FloorFloor · Amendment SP 5431 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
  9. CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Judiciary Committee
  10. Dec 21, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
  11. Dec 12, 1995FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  13. FloorFloor · Mr. Moorhead moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  14. Nov 30, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
  15. Oct 17, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
  16. Jul 27, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  18. Jun 8, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  19. Jan 25, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  20. Jan 23, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
  21. 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.