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Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson, the Commerce Department representative on 
the Interagency Committee, urged the Committee to advise on this matter 
as expeditiously as possible. The Committee reviewed the Order and the 
documents prepared by the Commerce Department explaining in detail the 
underlying policies. The discussion at the March 29 meeting centered 
on a number of issues contained in the Order, which follow below: 
1 . The Accelerated Processing of Patent Applications 
In reviewing the actions of the Commerce Department in this area, 
Dr. Ancker-Johnson explained that the acceleration of the patent process 
will result in earlier disclosure of the information included in the 
patent application. She emphasized that the manner in which the review 
of the application is conducted is not affected, but that this review 
will commence approximately six months sooner than the average review. 
She noted that precedents for such an acceleration exist for inventions 
in the fields of energy and environmental protection. 
Coranittee reactions to the Order were solicited and it was noted, for 
example, that environmental groups would prefer that the technology 
transfer from research to commercial application not proceed as quickly 
as in other areas because of the potential risks posed to public health 
and the environment. Dr. Ancker-Johnson replied that the Order requires 
research inventions receiving accelerated processing to adhere to the 
safety assessments and standards required by the NIH Guidelines. 
2 . Adherence to the NIH Guidelines 
Dr. Fredrickson raised the question of how the Order would affect foreign 
inventors who might be working under standards other than the NIH Guidelines. 
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