EXPLANATION OF THE UNITED STATES TREATY MEMBERSHIP PROCESS (SEE STATUS TOPIC )

In the United States a treaty must be consented to by the Senate. The first step in that process, usually, is review of the treaty by the current administration, to see if it is consistent with United States policies and law. The Geneva Act was reviewed initially by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). This Office was actively involved in the development of the Geneva Act, including attending all the meeting of experts and the diplomatic conference in 1999. The United States signed the treaty document, indicating a commitment to presented it to Congress for approval.

The United States State Department reviews each treaty for the administration and prepares a recommendation for the President on whether the United States should ratify the treaty. The State Department works closely with the PTO during this review, but the policy considerations taken into consideration are of a broad scope. The State Department prepares the documents for submission to the Senate to request approval of the treaty. A final review of these documents is made by the President's staff. If the President considers the treaty in the best interest of the United States, the documents are sent to the Senate, to start the process of consent. In the case of the Geneva Act, the treaty was sent to the Senate by a letter from the President on November 13, 2006, with a supporting document (See SENATE RATICATION)

A treaty sent to the Senate for ratification is referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A review of the histories in the Senate for recent treaties forwarded to that committee indicated various results. Usually, there is a hearing on the treaty, to determine if there is any public concerns, or need for special legislative implementation. A political decision is made by the Committee Chair on what the appropriate process should be.

The submission of a treaty to the Senate may include specific reservations or declarations that should be made, recommended by the administration. In the case of the Geneva Act, the supporting document listed several declarations that should be made as part of the Senate consent to the treaty, to adjust the treaty to the United States legal system.

There may be United States laws that need to changed as a result of treaty approval. A separate legislative bill is introduced by the administration to accomplish this change, and the bill follows the standard process for approval of new laws in the Congress. The Senate may wait for the legislation approval before giving its consent to the treaty. In the case of the Geneva Act, the President's letter made the commitment not to take the final step to deposit the necessary documents, to implement the treaty until the United States laws have been changed to comply the the treaty.

The administration has not submitted legislation to make the few changes needed in the United States patent law. The PTO has draft the legislation, but it is still under review. At the same time, the PTO needs to develop the necessary Patent and Trademark rules for the Geneva Act. This process will require public input, and it is a significant effort. It is one of the important next steps that need to occur for the United States ratification of the Geneva Act to occur. The Senate may wait for the complete package, law and rules change, before providing its consent. The final steps for Senate consent are a recommendation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a favorable vote by the Senate.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is responsive to expression of support and questions from the public. Companies and other organizations can contact this Committee to express their support and ask questions (SEE MEMBERSHIP PROCESS).

There may be extensive delay after Senate ratification of a treaty.  The reasons can come from many sources.  In the case of the Hague Agreement Geneva Act, it may be said that timing was everything, and there were a lot of economic and utility patent priorities involved.  As mentioned in the Special Notice report, now that the treaty is exposed to the public and Congressional  review the there is the opportunity to motivate Congress and the administration that this treaty will the economy in many ways, and it is the result of careful consideration with full particpation of the PTO and other interested parties, in the business, legal and academic world.in many countries  It has has very good preparation.at the treaty stage and in the administration of the International registration by the WIPO International Bureau.  
 
 

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This page was last updated on August 14, 2012

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