§3. Officers and employees

(a) There shall be in the Patent and Trademark Office a Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, a Deputy Commissioner, two Assistant Commissioners, and examiners-in-chief appointed under section 7 of this title. The Deputy Commissioner, or, in the event of a vacancy in that office, the Assistant Commissioner senior in date of appointment shall fill the office of Commissioner during a vacancy in that office until the Commissioner is appointed and takes office. The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Assistant Commissioners shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretary of Commerce, upon the nomination of the Commissioner, in accordance with law shall appoint all other officers and employees.

(b) The Secretary of Commerce may vest in himself the functions of the Patent and Trademark Office and its officers and employees specified in this title and may from time to time authorize their performance by any other officer or employee.

(c) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to fix the per annum rate of basic compensation of each examiner-in-chief in the Patent and Trademark Office at not in excess of the maximum scheduled rate provided for positions in grade 17 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended.¹

(d) The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks shall be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce and shall receive compensation at the rate prescribed by law for Assistant Secretaries of Commerce.

(e) The members of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the Patent and Trademark Office shall each be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay payable for GS–16 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5.

(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 792 ; Sept. 6, 1958, Pub. L. 85–933, §1, 72 Stat. 1793 ; Sept. 23, 1959, Pub. L. 86–370, §1(a), 73 Stat. 650 ; Aug. 14, 1964, Pub. L. 88–426, title III, §305(26), 78 Stat. 425 ; Jan. 2, 1975, Pub. L. 93–596, §1, 88 Stat. 1949 ; Jan. 2, 1975, Pub. L. 93–601, §1, 88 Stat. 1956 ; Aug. 27, 1982, Pub. L. 97–247, §4, 96 Stat. 319 ; Oct. 25, 1982, Pub. L. 97–366, §4, 96 Stat. 1760 ; Nov. 8, 1984, Pub. L. 98–622, title IV, §405, 98 Stat. 3392 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §2 (R.S. 476, amended (1) Feb. 15, 1916, ch. 22, §1, 39 Stat. 8 , (2) Feb. 14, 1927, ch. 139, §1, 44 Stat. 1098 , (3) Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, §1, 46 Stat. 155 ).

The temporary designation of the assistant commissioner as Commissioner in case of a vacancy in office is added. This will eliminate complications since present applicable general statutes (5 U.S.C., 1946 ed., §7) permit a vacancy to be temporarily filled only for not more than 30 days.

Changes in language are made. "Assistant commissioners" is used in the second sentence (and elsewhere in the bill) as referring to all three assistants.

This entire title is subject to Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1263) which vests all functions of the Patent Office in the Secretary of Commerce and authorizes delegation by him. It has been found impractical to so word the various sections of the title, and a general provision has been inserted as the second paragraph of this section of the bill, leaving the wording of various sections of the title in terms of officers previously specified and to whom the functions presently stand delegated.

References in Text

The Classification Act of 1949, as amended, referred to in subsec. (c), is act Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, 63 Stat. 954 , as amended, which was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 632 , and reenacted by the first section thereof as chapter 51 (§5101 et seq.) and subchapter III (§5331 et seq.) of chapter 53 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Amendments

1984-Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98–622 added subsec. (e).

1982-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–247 struck out "not more than fifteen" after "two Assistant Commissioners, and", and inserted "appointed under section 7 of this title" after "examiners-in-chief".

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97–366 added subsec. (d).

1975-Pub. L. 93–596 substituted "Patent and Trademark Office" for "Patent Office", and "Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks" for "Commissioner of Patents", wherever appearing.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–601 designated first par. as subsec. (a), redesignated first assistant commissioner as a Deputy Commissioner, granted authority for appointment of not more than fifteen examiners-in-chief to Secretary of Commerce instead of the President, and struck out provision relating to performance by assistant commissioners of duties assigned by Commissioner.

Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 93–601 designated second and third pars. as subsecs. (b) and (c), respectively.

1964-Pub. L. 88–426 repealed provisions which prescribed annual rate of compensation of Commissioner.

1959-Pub. L. 86–370 authorized Secretary of Commerce to fix compensation of examiners-in-chief.

1958-Pub. L. 85–933 increased number of examiners-in-chief from nine to not more than fifteen and specified annual compensation of Commissioner.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Section 406(b) of Pub. L. 98–622 provided that: "The amendments made by sections 401, 402, and 405 of this Act [amending this section and sections 361, 366, 371, 372, and 376 of this title] shall take effect six months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 8, 1984]."

Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97–247 effective Aug. 27, 1982, see section 17(a) of Pub. L. 97–247, set out as a note under section 41 of this title.

Effective Date of 1975 Amendments

Section 4(b) of Pub. L. 93–601 provided that: "This Act [amending this section and sections 7 and 151 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 151 of this title] shall be effective upon enactment [Jan. 2, 1975]. Examiners-in-chief in office on the date of enactment shall continue in office under and in accordance with their then existing appointments."

Amendment by Pub. L. 93–596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–596, set out as a note under section 1111 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.

Effective Date of 1964 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 88–426 effective on first day of first pay period which begins on or after July 1, 1964, except to the extent provided in section 501(c) of Pub. L. 88–426, see section 501 of Pub. L. 88–426.

Effective Date of 1959 Amendment

Section 7(b) of Pub. L. 86–370 provided that: "Sections 1 [amending this section, section 7 of this title, and provisions set out as a note below], 3 [amending sections 2205 and 2208 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees], and 6 [amending section 1082 of former Title 5 and section 903 of Title 20, Education] of this Act shall become effective on the first day of the first pay period which begins after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 23, 1959]." Such section 7(b) was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 660 .

References in Other Laws to GS–16, 17, or 18 Pay Rates

References in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, §101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5.

Existing Positions, Compensation, and Appointments Unaffected by Pub. L. 86–370 Until Action Taken Under Amendments

Section 1(c) of Pub. L. 86–370 provided that: "The amendments made by this section [amending sections 1 and 7 of this title] shall not affect-

"(1) any position of examiner-in-chief or designated examiner-in-chief existing immediately prior to the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1959 Amendment note set out above], or

"(2) any incumbent of any such position, his appointment thereto, his rate of compensation, or his right to receive such compensation,

until appropriate action is taken under authority of such amendments."

Cross References

Classification and compensation of civil service employees, see section 5101 et seq. of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Compensation of Commissioner, see section 5316 of Title 5.

Employment of clerks and employees in governmental departments, see section 3101 of Title 5.

¹ See References in Text note below.