FEDERAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY ACT
AN ACT to facilitate commercial financing of enterprises based upon the security of their intellectual property by confirming the perfection of that security by traditional, appropriate means, and as to related matters.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1.Short Title.
This Act may be cited as the " Federal Intellectual Property Security Act. "
SECTION 2.Findings and Purposes.
(a) FINDINGS: Congress finds the following:
(1)In order to finance their business activities, including research and development creating intellectual property, many business entities obtain secured credit. The more secure and predictable the lender's rights and security are, the better terms the borrower can obtain. Conversely, the risk of loss or impairment or other uncertainties with respect to collateral inhibit the financing desired by all parties. Predictability and uniformity of treatment further the interests of all parties involved in commercial transactions regarding intellectual property rights, whether those parties are intellectual property owners, licensees, or their lenders.
(2)In many cases, a company = s intellectual property is among the assets most valuable and useful as collateral in obtaining desired financing. Moreover, increasingly companies' assets and businesses are focused on a combination of various forms of intellectual property, and the same product or process may involve a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property.
(3)Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the state law governing secured transactions, looks to the federal intellectual property statutes with respect to transactions involving intellectual property collateral. Variation in those federal statutes and in their interpretation therefore creates a lack of certainty and uniformity.
(4)Some judicial decisions have unsettled the law with respect to financing of intellectual property by holding that the only way to perfect a security interest in a copyright, in material that is copyrightable, or in proceeds of such material is to file a copyright mortgage with the U.S. Copyright Office. These decisions include In re Peregrine Entertainment Ltd., 116 B.R. 194 (C.D. Cal.1990); In re AEG Acquisition Corp., 127 B.R. 34 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1991), amended 161 B.R. 50 (9th Cir. BAP 1993); and In re Avalon Software, Inc., 209 B.R. 517 (Bankr. D. Ariz. 1997). In contrast, security interests in patents and trademark rights may be perfected through state notice filings or federal transfer filings.
(5)The federal system for registering interests in intellectual property, unlike state filing systems, does not provide for notice filing, for generic descriptions of collateral or for perfection of security interests in subsequently-acquired property. As a result, companies and their lenders have either had to incur the time and expense of additional filings and copyright registrations that would not otherwise have been made, or forego financing opportunities.
(6)This Act makes substantive and procedural changes to the law in order to provide uniformity and certainty and to facilitate financing of Federal intellectual property, consistent with the rights of owners and assignees of interests in such property.
(b)PURPOSES: Based upon the powers contained in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 and other provisions of the Constitution of the United States, the purposes of this Act are:
(1)To promote financing and development of intellectual property assets by clarifying the methods for perfecting security interests in such collateral, and by making intellectual property collateral as predictable, valuable and useful as possible;
(2)To assist businesses (and, through them, consumers and others) in obtaining credit on the best available terms; and
(3)To lessen the burdens on interstate commerce by reducing legal risks associated with inconsistent treatment of different types of intellectual property .
SECTION 3: SECURITY INTERESTS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SUBJECT TO FEDERAL LAW
(a) Definitions
The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this Act:
A " transferee " means a person other than a secured party or lien creditor who acquires any right or interest (other than a security interest) in, or ownership of, a Federal Intellectual Property Right.
A " federal financing statement " means a notice of a security interest which complies with the requirements of ' 3(b)(3) of this Act. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term " federal financing statement " includes the original federal financing statement and any filed amendments, continuations and assignments.
The terms "authenticate", "collateral " , "debtor" , "good faith" , " lien creditor" , "representative" " secured party " , " security agreement' , "security interest" , " signed " or " signature " and " value " shall have the meanings given to such terms under applicable non-federal law relating to security interests in personal property.
The term " appropriate Federal office " means the Copyright Office for matters relating to copyrights, mask works and vessel hull design protection rights, the Patent and Trademark Office for matters relating to patents and Federal marks (provided that records filed in the Patent and Trademark Office must be filed with the applicable Assignment Division of such Office), and the Plant Variety Protection Office of the Department of Agriculture for matters relating to plant variety protection rights.
The term " copyright " means any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright under chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, whether or not registered under chapter 4 of such title.
The term " Federal mark " means a mark that is registered pursuant to the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. ' 1051 et seq.), or for which an application for such registration is pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The term " mark " has the meaning given in section 45 of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. ' 1127).
The term " mask work " has the meaning given in section 901 of title 17, United States Code.
The term " patent " means a patent or a pending application for a patent under title 35, United States Code.
The term " person " means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity.
The term "plant variety protection rights" means a certificate of plant variety protection or a pending application for such a certificate under chapter 57 of title 7, United States Code.
The term " proceeds " means whatever is received or to be received by the owner or any other party from the transfer, disposition, license (whether or not exclusive), use or other exploitation of Federal Intellectual Property Rights, and includes (but is not limited to) the meaning given to "proceeds" under applicable non-federal law relating to security interests in personal property.
The term "vessel hull design protection rights" means a certificate of registration or a pending application for such a certificate under chapter 13 of title 17, United States Code.
The term " Federal Intellectual Property Rights " means copyrights, patents, Federal marks, mask works, plant variety protection rights and vessel hull design protection rights.
(b) Security Interests
(1) This section applies to all security interests in Federal Intellectual Property Rights and in the proceeds thereof which interests are created by contract, regardless of form and nomenclature.
(2) (A) The creation, attachment, perfection, priority and enforcement of a security interest in a Federal Intellectual Property Right or in the proceeds thereof relative to all competing rights, claims, and interests therein and licenses thereof shall be determined by applicable non-federal law governing security interests in personal property, except as provided in subsection (b)(2)(B). The creation, attachment, perfection, priority and enforcement of any right or interest (other than a security interest) in, or ownership of, a Federal Intellectual Property Right shall be determined by the applicable federal law governing such Federal Intellectual Property Right.
(B) A security interest in a Federal Intellectual Property Right is ineffective against a transferee of the Federal Intellectual Property Right, whether or not such interest is perfected under non-federal law, if (i) the document transferring ownership of the Federal Intellectual Property Right to such transferee is recorded with the appropriate Federal office before a federal financing statement covering the Federal Intellectual Property Right and relating to such security interest was filed with such office, and (ii) such transferee's recordation is made in the manner required under applicable federal law (as amended by Section 4 of this Act) to give priority to such transferee's interest in the Federal Intellectual Property Right.
(3) (A) A federal financing statement may be filed by a secured party or by the debtor to give notice of the secured party's interest in the Federal Intellectual Property Rights described in the statement. The federal financing statement shall contain the names of the debtor and the secured party (or its collateral agent or trustee); the mailing addresses of the debtor and the secured party; and a description, which may be general, specific or both, indicating the types, or describing the items, of collateral.
(B) In describing the collateral, a general reference to " intellectual property " or ``general intangibles " shall be sufficient to describe all of the debtor's interests in all Federal Intellectual Property Rights (and, in the case of Federal marks, the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by such Federal marks), including those Federal Intellectual Property Rights subsequently created or acquired. A general reference to " marks " , " patents," " copyrights " or " mask works " shall be sufficient to describe all of the debtor's interests in the respective sub-category of Federal Intellectual Property Rights (and, in the case of Federal marks, the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by such Federal marks), including such of those Federal Intellectual Property Rights subsequently created or acquired.
(C) A federal financing statement may be filed at any time, whether before or after a security agreement is entered into or a security interest otherwise attaches, before or after a financing statement is filed in a non-federal jurisdiction, or before or after a Federal Intellectual Property Right is created or a Federal Intellectual Property Right is acquired by the debtor.
(D) A secured party of record may add or delete Federal Intellectual Property Rights as collateral or otherwise amend the information provided in a federal financing statement by filing an amendment that describes the changed information and identifies, by file number, the original federal financing statement to which the amendment relates. An amendment does not extend the period of effectiveness of a federal financing statement. If any amendment adds collateral, it is effective as to the added collateral only from the filing date of the amendment.
(E) A federal financing statement sufficiently provides the name of the debtor only if it provides the individual, partnership, corporate, or other entity name of the debtor, whether or not it adds trade names or names of partners. Where the debtor so changes the debtor's name, identity, or corporate structure that a filed federal financing statement becomes seriously misleading, that federal financing statement is not effective with respect to collateral acquired by the debtor more than four months after the change [plus the period of the filing backlog at the applicable Federal agency at the time of such change], unless a new federal financing statement or an amendment which renders the federal financing statement not seriously misleading is filed before the expiration of that time. A filed federal financing statement remains effective with respect to Federal Intellectual Property Rights described therein that are sold, exchanged, licensed or otherwise transferred and as to which the secured party's security interest continues, even if the secured party knows of or consents to the disposition.
(F) A federal financing statement substantially complying with the requirements of this subsection is effective even if it contains minor errors or omissions as long as such errors or omissions are not seriously misleading.
(4) (A) (i) Presentation for filing of a federal financing statement and tender of the filing fee or acceptance of the federal financing statement by the appropriate Federal office constitutes filing of the federal financing statement under this subsection 3(b).
(ii) The appropriate Federal office shall assign to each federal financing statement a file number and keep a record of the date and hour of filing, and shall hold the statement or other reliable record thereof for public inspection. In addition, by no later than ________ days after filing, the appropriate Federal office shall index the federal financing statement according to the name of the debtor and shall note in the index the file number and the name and address of the debtor and the secured party given in the statement.
(B) A filed federal financing statement is effective for ten years from the date of filing. The effectiveness of a filed federal financing statement lapses on the expiration of the ten-year period unless a continuation statement is filed prior to the lapse.
(C) (i) An assignment statement may be filed by the secured party of record or its assignee to disclose an assignment of a security interest in some or all of the collateral described in a filed federal financing statement. The assignment statement must be authenticated by the secured party of record, must indicate the name and address of the assignee and the file number of the original federal financing statement, and must describe the types or items of collateral covered by the assignment. On presentation of the assignment statement to the appropriate Federal office, such office shall note the hour and date of filing of the assignment statement upon the record of the original federal financing statement.
(ii) After the filing of an assignment statement under this Section, the assignee is the secured party of record with respect to the Federal Intellectual Property Rights collateral covered by the assignment statement.
(D) A continuation statement may be filed within six months prior to the expiration of the ten-year period specified in subsection (b)(4)(B). Any such continuation statement must be filed by the secured party of record or its assignee, and identify by file number the original federal financing statement. A continuation statement filed by a person other than the secured party of record must be accompanied by a separate assignment statement authenticated by the secured party of record and complying with subsection (b)(4)(C), including payment of any required fee. Upon timely filing of the continuation statement, the effectiveness of the original federal financing statement is continued for ten years after the last date to which the filing was theretofore effective, whereupon it lapses in the same manner as provided in subsection (b)(4)(B) unless another continuation statement is filed prior to such lapse. Succeeding continuation statements may be filed in the same manner to continue the effectiveness of the original federal financing statement.
(E) Whenever there is no outstanding secured obligation and the secured party of record is not subject to any commitment to make advances to the debtor, incur obligations or otherwise give value, the secured party must, within 10 days after written demand by the debtor, send to the debtor or file with the appropriate Federal office a termination statement to the effect that the secured party no longer claims a security interest under the federal financing statement. A termination statement authenticated by a person other than the secured party of record must be accompanied by a separate written assignment statement authenticated by the secured party of record and complying with subsection (b)(4)(C), including payment of the required fee. Upon the filing of a termination statement with the appropriate Federal office in accordance with this paragraph, the federal financing statement to which the termination statement relates ceases to be effective.
(F) A secured party of record may by a release statement release all or part of any collateral described in a filed federal financing statement. A release statement is sufficient if it contains a description of the types or items of the collateral being released, the name and address of the debtor, the name and address of the secured party, and the file number of the federal financing statement. A release statement authenticated by a person other than the secured party of record must be accompanied by a separate assignment statement authenticated by the secured party of record and complying with subsection (b)(4)(C), including payment of the required fee. Upon presentation of such a release statement to the appropriate Federal office, such office shall note the hour and date of filing of the release statement upon the record of the original federal financing statement.
(G) With respect to any Federal Intellectual Property Rights that are subject to a security interest (whether or not perfected) as to which the secured party has exercised its post-default rights or remedies, the person that is the transferee of such Federal Intellectual Property Rights as a result of such exercise of rights or remedies may file in the appropriate Federal office a transfer statement that:
(i) states the name of the debtor and the name and mailing address of the secured party;
(ii) identifies the Federal Intellectual Property Rights transferred;
(iii) identifies, by file number, the federal financing statement, if any, previously filed by the secured party covering the Federal Intellectual Property Rights;
(iv) states the name and mailing address of the transferee of the Federal Intellectual Property Rights (which may but need not be the secured party); and
(v) states that: (a) the secured party had a security interest in the Federal Intellectual Property Rights (and, in the case of Federal marks, in the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by such Federal marks); (b) the debtor defaulted in connection with an obligation secured by the Federal Intellectual Property Rights and such default has not been cured; (c) the debtor has been given at least 5 days prior written notice of the transfer (which notice shall be deemed given if the secured party shall have complied with the notice requirements of applicable non-federal law in connection with the foreclosure upon, or other disposition of, collateral other than such Federal Intellectual Property Rights); and (d) the identified transferee of the Federal Intellectual Property Rights has complied with all requirements imposed by federal law as a condition to the effectiveness of a transfer of such Federal Intellectual Property Right and is entitled to the transfer of record of the interest of the debtor in the Federal Intellectual Property Rights transferred (and, in the case of Federal marks, in the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by such Federal marks) by reason of the secured party's exercise of its post-default rights or remedies in accordance with applicable non-federal law.
Recordation by a transferee of such a transfer statement in the manner required under applicable federal law (as amended by Section 4 of this Act) to give priority to such transferee's interest in the Federal Intellectual Property Right, if the transferee has complied with all other requirements imposed by federal law as a condition to the effectiveness of a transfer of such Federal Intellectual Property Right, shall transfer to the identified transferee, for purposes of the public record, all of the interest of the debtor and the secured party in the Federal Intellectual Property Rights transferred (together with, in the case of Federal marks, the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by such Federal marks).
(5) Federal marks shall be transferable to the secured party in accordance with applicable non-federal law and subsection (b)(4)(G) above even though such party does not engage in or intend to enter the business to which the Federal mark relates, provided that the secured party holds the Federal mark only for the purpose of subsequently transferring it along with the goodwill relating to the Federal mark, and that such subsequent transfer occurs [prior to the dissipation of the goodwill][within a period no longer than __ months from the initial transfer].
(6) Any person that files a federal financing statement, amendment, assignment statement, continuation statement, termination statement, release statement or transfer statement that the person is not entitled to file shall be liable for damages to the debtor or secured party in the amount of any loss proximately caused by such filing, which may include loss resulting from the debtor's inability to obtain, or increased costs of, alternative financing. In addition to any damages recoverable by a debtor under the preceding sentence, the debtor may recover from such person $1,000. A prevailing party in any action under this paragraph may recover reasonable attorneys' fees from the non-prevailing parties.
(7) Whenever there is no outstanding secured obligation of a debtor to the secured party of record and the secured party is not subject to any commitment to make advances to the debtor, incur obligations or otherwise give value, if within ten days after written demand therefor by the debtor the secured party fails to either file a termination statement or send to the debtor such a termination statement, the secured party shall be liable to the debtor for $1,000. A prevailing party in any action under this paragraph may recover reasonable attorneys' fees from the non-prevailing parties.
(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of 28 U.S.C. ' 1338, the federal district courts and the courts of the states shall have concurrent jurisdiction with respect to any civil action arising under paragraphs (6) or (7) above.
(c) Regulatory Authority
The Register of Copyrights, subject to the approval of the Librarian of Congress, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce, and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall promulgate final regulations to implement the federal filing system established by subsection 3(b) of this Act not later than ___ days after the date of enactment of this Act, and those regulations shall become effective not later than ___ days after the date of enactment of this Act. The Register of Copyrights, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Plant Variety Protection Office are authorized to maintain, in addition to or in lieu of a paper-based filing system, a filing system utilizing electronic, voice, optical, and other information transmission, storage, processing, maintenance and retrieval technologies. The Register of Copyrights, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall also issue such other regulations as they determine to be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act, including regulations, if any, necessary and sufficient to permit submission and retrieval of information from the database(s) established pursuant to subsection (e)(1) below.
(d) Coordination
The Register of Copyrights, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall coordinate their respective procedures for filings of federal financing statements as to security interests in Federal Intellectual Property Rights pursuant to subsection (b) above. Such coordination could include, for example, the creation of a single database or index of databases, a uniform form of federal financing statement, and/or a single place of filing of federal financing statements covering copyrights, patents, Federal marks or mask works. The Register of Copyrights, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall also coordinate the form of federal financing statement with the forms for recordation of transfers of ownership in Federal Intellectual Property Rights.
(e) Information Databases
(1) The appropriate Federal office shall maintain an information database relating to the filing, amendment, assignment, continuation, release or termination of federal financing statements relating to any security interest affecting ownership of or any interest in a Federal Intellectual Property Right. Subject to the provisions of subsection (d), this requirement may be met by means of separate database(s) maintained by the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office and the Plant Variety Protection Office, as well as by a single unified database. The database(s) maintained by the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall be adequate to search and identify security interests by debtor.
(2) Upon request and tender of the required fee, the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office and the Plant Variety Protection Office shall issue a certificate showing whether there is on file in the database referred to in section (e)(1) on the date and hour stated therein, any effective federal financing statement naming a particular debtor and any assignment statement thereof and, if there is, giving the date and hour of filing of each such statement, the collateral covered, and the name and address of each secured party therein.
(f) Availability of Copies of Records
(1) If the person filing any federal financing statement, amendment, assignment statement, continuation statement, termination statement, release statement or transfer statement furnishes the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office or the Plant Variety Protection Office a copy thereof, the Copyright Office, Patent and Trademark Office or Plant Variety Protection Office, as applicable, shall upon request note upon the copy the file number and date and hour of the filing of the original and deliver or send the copy to such person.
(2) Copies or reproductions of filed federal financing statements and other filings related thereto shall be furnished by the end of the fifth business day after request and payment of the fees specified by subsection (g).
(g) Fees
The fees for filings in each appropriate Federal office under this Act shall be established in the same manner as the other fees charged by that office.
SECTION 4: Conforming Amendments to Existing Statutes
(a) Copyright Act And Mask Works.
(1) Replace the existing definition of " transfer of copyright ownership " in 17 U.S.C. ' 101 with the following:
" A transfer of copyright ownership " is an assignment, exclusive license or any other conveyance or alienation of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or place of effect, but not including a nonexclusive license or the grant of a security interest.
(2) Amend 17 U.S.C. ' 205(d) to read as follows:
(d) Priority between conflicting transfers - As between two conflicting transfers of copyright ownership, the one executed first prevails if it is recorded, in the manner required to give constructive notice under subsection (c), at any time before recordation in such manner of the later transfer. Otherwise the later transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner, and if taken in good faith, for value, and without notice of the earlier transfer.
(3) Add a new 17 U.S.C. ' 205(f) to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding subsections 205(a)-(e), the provisions of section 205 shall not apply to the creation, attachment, perfection, priority or enforcement of a security interest in a copyright or the proceeds thereof; no document creating, evidencing or otherwise relating to the creation or perfection of a security interest shall be required to be recorded under section 205; and the recordation of a document under section 205 shall not give constructive notice of any fact relating to the existence or priority of any security interest; provided, however, that transfer statements submitted in accordance with section 3(b)(4)(G) of the Federal Intellectual Property Security Act shall be recorded and once recorded shall give constructive notice under subsection (a) of the contents thereof.
(4) Amend 17 U.S.C. ' 903(c) to read as follows:
(c) (1) Any document pertaining to a mask work may be recorded in the Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation bears the actual signature of the person who executed it, or if it is accompanied by a sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original, signed document. The Copyright Office shall, upon receipt of the document and the fee specified pursuant to subsection 908(d), record the document and return it with a certificate of recordation. The recordation of any transfer or license under this paragraph gives all persons constructive notice of the facts stated in the recorded document concerning the transfer or license.
(2) Notwithstanding subsections 903(a)-(d), the provisions of section 903 shall not apply to the creation, attachment, perfection, priority or enforcement of a security interest in a mask work or the proceeds thereof; no document creating, evidencing or otherwise relating to the creation or perfection of a security interest shall be required to be recorded under section 903; and the recordation of a document under section 903 shall not give constructive notice of any fact relating to the existence or priority of any security interest; provided, however, that transfer statements submitted in accordance with subsection 3(b)(4)(G) of the Federal Intellectual Property Security Act shall be recorded and shall give constructive notice under subsection (a) of the contents thereof.
(b) Lanham Act
Replace 15 U.S.C. ' 1060 with the following:
' 1060. Assignment of mark; execution; recording; purchaser without notice
A registered mark or a mark for which an application to register has been filed shall be assignable with the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by the mark. However, no application to register a mark under section 1051(b) of this title shall be assignable prior to the filing of the amendment under section 1051(a) or the verified statement of use under section 1051(d) of this title, except to a successor to the business of the applicant, or portion thereof, to which the mark pertains, if that business is ongoing and existing. In any assignment authorized by this section or by section 3(b) of the Federal Intellectual Property Security Act, it shall not be necessary to include the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symbolized by any other mark used in the business or by the name or style under which the business is conducted.
Assignments shall be by instruments in writing duly executed. Acknowledgment shall be prima facie evidence of the execution of an assignment and when recorded in the Patent and Trademark Office the record shall be prima facie evidence of execution. An assignment shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice, unless it is recorded in the Patent and Trademark Office prior to such subsequent purchase, and shall be subject to the rights of any secured party who has filed a federal financing statement prior to the date of filing of such assignment. A separate record of assignments submitted for recording hereunder shall be maintained in the Patent and Trademark Office. An assignee not domiciled in the United States shall be subject to and comply with the provisions of section 1051(e) of this title.
(c) Patent Act
Amend the last paragraph of 35 U.S.C. ' 261 to read as follows:
An assignment, grant or conveyance of a patent application or a patent (but not of a security interest in a patent application or a patent) shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser for value, without notice, unless it is recorded in the Patent and Trademark Office within ten days from its date or prior to the date of such subsequent purchase. Except as provided in section 3(b)(4)(G) of the Federal Intellectual Property Security Act, the rights and obligations of all persons with respect to a security interest in a patent, a patent application, or the proceeds of either, including matters of creation, attachment, perfection, priority, and enforcement, shall be governed by non-federal law relating to security interests in personal property.
(d)-(f) RESERVED FOR CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT, 7 U.S.C. ' 2321 et seq, THE VESSEL HULL DESIGN PROTECTION ACT, 17 U.S.C. ' 501 et seq. AND CHAPTER 180 OF TITLE 28, U.S. CODE (ASSUMPTION OF CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO TRANSFERS OF RIGHTS IN MOTION PICTURES)
(g) Accommodation of New Filing Technologies
All references in the Lanham Act, the Patent Act and the Copyright Act to filings relating to security interests shall not be limited to paper documents but shall include electronic, voice, optical, and such other information transmission, storage, processing, maintenance, and retrieval technologies as shall be approved for such purposes by the Register of Copyrights, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Plant Variety Protection Office from time to time.
SECTION 5. Report to Congress.
The Copyright Office and the Patent and Trademark Office shall report to the _______________Committee of the _____________ not later than ________days after the enactment of this Act regarding their plans to comply with the requirements of this Act.
SECTION 6. Effective Dates
(a) This Act shall become effective on the date of enactment of this Act, except that the provisions of paragraphs 3(b)(3) B 3(b)(8) shall not become effective until the effective date of the regulations described in subsection 3(c).
(b) Section 3(b)(2)(A) shall apply to all security interests in effect under applicable non-federal law on the date of enactment.