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.
Public Law 111-45 · H.R. 3114 · 111th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Aug 7, 2009 · Commerce
Sponsor: Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14)
Cosponsors (3): Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Hank Johnson,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- 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.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
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.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
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.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 1358Related bill
A bill 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.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.
- Aug 7, 2009Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 111-45.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jul 27, 2009FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Jul 20, 2009FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Jul 16, 2009FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Jul 8, 2009CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
- Jul 7, 2009FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Considered as unfinished business.
- FloorFloor · 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.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3114.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Johnson (GA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.