,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #eecg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #af1 #bjbd,mrs4 ,blackburn 7for herself and ,mr4 ,welch7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,intellectual ,property and ,director of the ,united ,states ,patent and ,trademark ,office to establish and carry out a pilot program to expedite the examination of applications for certain patents1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,leadership in ,critical and ,emerging ,technologies ,act or the ,leadership in ,,cet ,act4 #b4 ,pilot program for expediting examination of certain critical and emerging technology patent applications 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered application ,the term covered application means an application for patent with respect to an eligible critical or emerging technology4 7#b7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,intellectual ,property and ,director of the ,office4 7#c7 ,eligible critical or emerging technology ,the term eligible critical or emerging technology means-- 7,a7 artificial intelligence1 as defined in section #ejjb of the ,national ,artificial ,intelligence ,initiative ,act of #bjbj 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #idja72 7,b7 microelectronics1 as defined in section #ajgca7;a7 of the ,research and ,development1 ,competition1 and ,innovation ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aicca7;a772 or 7,c7 quantum information science1 as defined in section #b of the ,national ,quantum ,initiative ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #hhja74 7#d7 ,expedite ,the term expedite means1 with respect to a covered application1 to advance that covered application out of turn through the use of a petition to make special4 7#e7 ,office ,the term ,office means the ,united ,states ,patent and ,trademark ,office4 7#f7 ,pilot program ,the term pilot program means the pilot program established under subsection 7b74 7b7 ,establishment ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director shall establish a pilot program to expedite the examination1 under section #aca of title #ce1 ,united ,states ,code1 of covered applications4 7c7 ,purpose ,the purpose of the pilot program shall be to encourage innovation by1 and the leadership of1 the ,united ,states with respect to critical or emerging technologies by ensuring that covered applications receive prompt consideration4 7d7 ,implementation ,in carrying out the pilot program1 the ,director-- 7#a7 shall establish the process by which covered applications are expedited2 7#b7 may waive-- 7,a7 the petition fee described in section #a4ajb7;d7 of title #cg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor regulation2 or 7,b7 any other requirement of the ,office relating to the accelerated examination program or the prioritized examination program2 and 7#c7 may establish reasonable limitations on the number of covered applications that an applicant may submit for expedited examination under the pilot program4 7e7 ,qualifying applications ,to best achieve the purpose of the pilot program1 the ,director shall ensure that a covered application satisfies the following requirements to qualify for the pilot program3 7#a7 ,the applicant submitting the covered application is-- 7,a7 an entity that is incorporated in the ,united ,states2 or 7,b7 an inventor who resides in the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,the covered application is a noncontinuing1 original1 and nonprovisional patent application4 7f7 ,termination 7#a7 ,in general ,the pilot program shall terminate on the earlier of the following3 7,a7 ,the date that is #e years after the date on which the ,director first issues a patent for an invention claimed in a covered application that is expedited under the pilot program4 7,b7 ,the date on which the ,director has accepted #aj1jjj covered applications for participation in the pilot program1 without regard to whether those covered applications have been expedited under the pilot program4 7#b7 ,renewal ,if the pilot program terminates under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the ,director may renew the pilot program for the shorter of the following3 7,a7 ,an additional #e-year period4 7,b7 ,an additional period-- 7i7 beginning on the date on which the pilot program terminates under paragraph 7#a77;,b72 and 7ii7 ending on the date on which the ,director has accepted an additional #aj1jjj covered applications for participation in the pilot program1 without regard to whether those covered applications have been expedited under the pilot program4 7#c7 ,notice of renewal ,the ,director shall notify ,congress of the intent of the ,director to renew the pilot program under paragraph 7#b7 not later than the date that is the earlier of the following3 7,a7 ,the date that is #fj days before the date described in paragraph 7#a77;,a74 7,b7 ,the date that is #cj days after the date on which the ,director has accepted #h1jjj covered applications for participation in the pilot program1 without regard to whether those covered applications have been expedited under the pilot program4 7g7 ,public availability of information ,the ,director shall make publicly available in an easily accessible location on the website of the ,office information about the pilot program1 including-- 7#a7 the number of covered applications received by the ,director for participation in the pilot program2 7#b7 the number of covered applications described in paragraph 7#a7 that the ,director has accepted for participation in the pilot program2 and 7#c7 the number of patents that have been issued for inventions claimed in covered applications expedited under the pilot program4 7h7 ,report to ,congress 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date on which the pilot program terminates 7including any renewal of the pilot program under subsection 7f77#b771 the ,director shall submit to ,congress a report that assesses the impact and effectiveness of the pilot program based on all available data4 7#b7 ,applicability ,the collection of any data for the purposes of carrying out paragraph 7#a7 shall be exempt from subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act74