A bill to amend section 17 of the Act of July 5, 1946, as amended, entitled "An Act to provide for the registration and protection of trade-marks used in commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions, and for other purposes.
Public Law 96-455 · H.R. 4273 · 96th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 15, 1980 · Commerce
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-WI-2)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
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.
Deletes the requirement that employees of the Patent and Trademark Office meet the approval of the Civil Service Commission before being eligible for inclusion on the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Includes the Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks as a member of such Board and such other members as may be appointed by the Commissioner.
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.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Oct 15, 1980Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 96-455.
- Oct 10, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 9, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Oct 8, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 30, 1980FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate.
- FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- Sep 26, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- May 31, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- 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.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.