Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 2.djvu/1075

 PUBLIC LAW 106-113—APPENDIX I 113 STAT. 1501A-557 "(6) PERSONAL DEFENSE. —The defense under this section may be asserted only by the person who performed the acts necessary to estabhsh the defense and, except for any transfer to the patent owner, the right to asserl: the defense shall not be licensed or assigned or transferred to another person except as an ancillary and subordinate part of a good faith assignment or transfer for other reasons of the entire enterprise or line of business to which the defense relates. "(7) LIMITATION ON SITES.— A defense under this section, when acquired as part of a good faith assignment or transfer of an entire enterprise or line of business to which the defense relates, may only be asserted for uses at sites where the subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more of the claims is in use before the later of the effective filing date of the patent or the date of the assignment or transfer of such enterprise or line of business. "(8) UNSUCCESSFUL ASSERTION OF DEFEINSE. — If the defense under this section is pleaded by a person who is found to infringe the patent and who subsequently fails to demonstrate a reasonable basis for asserting the defense, the court shall find the case exceptional for the purpose of awarding attorney fees under section 285 of this title. "(9) INVALIDITY. —^A patent shall not be deemed to be invalid under section 102 or 103 of this title solely because a defense is raised or established under this section.". (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT. —The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 28 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: "273. Defense to infringement based on earlier inventor.". SEC. 4303. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. This subtitle and the amendments made lay this subtitle shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, but shall not apply to any action for infringement that; is pending on such date of enactment or with respect to any subject matter for which an adjudication of infringement, including a consent judgment, has been made before such date of enactment. Subtitle D—Patent Term Guarantee SEC. 4401. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the "Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999". SEC. 4402. PATENT TEBM GUARANTEE AUTHORITY. (a) ADJUSTMENT OF PATENT TERM. — Section 154(b) of title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "(b) ADJUSTMENT OF PATENT TERM. — " (1) PATENT TERM GUARANTEES. — "(A) GUARANTEE OF PROMPT PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE RESPONSES. —Subject to the limitations under paragraph (2), if the issue of an original patent is delayed due to the failure of the Patent and Trademark Office to— "(i) provide at least one of the notifications under section 132 of this title or a notice of allowance under

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