MEDIA ADVISORY
                                                  96-16
CONTACT:  Richard Maulsby
          Lisa-Joy Zgorski
          (703)305-8341

 COMMISSIONER BRUCE LEHMAN TO VOICE ADMINISTRATION'S SUPPORT
                   FOR PTO CORPORATIZATION
                              
Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks will testify on the
Hill tomorrow in support of S. 1961, legislation to reinvent
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  In a letter to House
Subcommittee Chairman Carlos Moorhead, Commerce Secretary
Mickey Kantor articulated the Clinton Administration's
support for the House companion bill, H.R. 3460 with a
bipartisan en banc manager amendent, saying it would "create
an organization consistent with the essential principles of
the Vice President's vision for a Performance Based
Organization, to further our mutual goal of creating a more
efficient and effective Patent and Trademark Office."
Lehman will expound on that theme and address outstanding
congressional questions and concerns.

Testimony:     Senate Judiciary Hearing

Witness:  Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce
and
          Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks

Date:          Wednesday, September 18, 1996

Time:          10:00 a.m.

Place:         226 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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September 17, 1996