CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. (a) In General.—Section 171 of title 35, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking “Whoever” and inserting “(a) In General.—Whoever”; (2) by striking “The provisions” and inserting “(b) Applicability of This Title.—The provisions”; and (3) by adding at the end the following: “(c) Filing Date. The filing date of an application for patent for design shall be the date on which the specification as prescribed by section 112 and any required drawings are filed.” . (b) Relief in Respect of Time Limits and Reinstatement of Right.—Title 35, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 41— (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following: “(7) Revival fees. On filing each petition for the revival of an abandoned application for a patent, for the delayed payment of the fee for issuing each patent, for the delayed response by the patent owner in any reexamination proceeding, for the delayed payment of the fee for maintaining a patent in force, for the delayed submission of a priority or benefit claim, or for the extension of the 12-month period for filing a subsequent application, $1,700.00. The Director may refund any part of the fee specified in this paragraph, in exceptional circumstances as determined by the Director” ; and (B) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: “(1) Acceptance. The Director may accept the payment of any maintenance fee required by subsection (b) after the 6-month grace period if the delay is shown to the satisfaction of the Director to have been unintentional. The Director may require the payment of the fee specified in subsection (a)(7) as a condition of accepting payment of any maintenance fee after the 6-month grace period. If the Director accepts payment of a maintenance fee after the 6-month grace period, the patent shall be considered as not having expired at the end of the grace period.” ; (2) in section 119(b)(2), in the second sentence, by striking “including the payment of a surcharge” and inserting “including the requirement for payment of the fee specified in section 41(a)(7)”; (3) in section 120, in the fourth sentence, by striking “including the payment of a surcharge” and inserting “including the requirement for payment of the fee specified in section 41(a)(7)”; (4) in section 122(b)(2)(B)(iii), in the second sentence, by striking “, unless it is shown” and all that follows through “unintentional”; (5) in section 133, by striking “, unless it be shown” and all that follows through “unavoidable”; (6) by striking section 151 and inserting the following: “SEC. 151. [35 U.S.C. 151] Issue of patent “(a) In General. If it appears that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, a written notice of allowance of the application shall be given or mailed to the applicant. The notice shall specify a sum, constituting the issue fee and any required publication fee, which shall be paid within 3 months thereafter. “(b) Effect of Payment. Upon payment of this sum the patent may issue, but if payment is not timely made, the application shall be regarded as abandoned.” ; (7) in section 361, by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: “(c) International applications filed in the Patent and Trademark Office shall be filed in the English language, or an English translation shall be filed within such later time as may be fixed by the Director.” ; (8) in section 364, by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: “(b) An applicant’s failure to act within prescribed time limits in connection with requirements pertaining to an international application may be excused as provided in the treaty and the Regulations.” ; and (9) in section 371(d), in the third sentence, by striking “, unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the Director that such failure to comply was unavoidable”.