House Budget Committee sets out plans for independent USPTO
The House Budget Committee released a budget blueprint for “building a better America” on Friday, proposing that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) should become an independent agency.
As part of the 63-page plan for fiscal responsibility (pdf), page 50 proposed the elimination of “overlap” and consolidation of “necessary Department of Commerce (DoC) functions into other departments”.
The USPTO is part of the DoC.
According to the blueprint: “Since its establishment in 1903, the Commerce Department has expanded in size and scope to include many activities better suited at other agencies. The Department of Commerce and its various agencies and programmes are rife with waste, abuse, and duplication.”
The debate about reform of the USPTO has been going on for a while.
As reported by WIPR in July last year, the USPTO was asked by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to implement reforms in order to boost patent quality.
It was asked to implement guidance on patent quality and ensure examiners have sufficient time to review applications after a near 150% rise in patent lawsuits between 2007 and 2015.
According to the GAO report, released last year, the USPTO could improve its operations and reduce the need for lawsuits by implementing a consistent definition for patent quality.
Additionally the USPTO has not properly addressed the time constraints faced by examiners or clamped down on wordy and broad patent applications, the GAO said.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today’s top stories:
EIP adds Taylor Wessing partner to Düsseldorf office
IP unjustified threats law takes effect in UK
Litigation roundup: cases you may have missed last week
Coachella settles trademark clash with Urban Outfitters
Levi Strauss sues company over ‘tabs’ on back pocket of trousers
Trademark clash between Premier League and UKIP ruled out
CPA Global under investigation over alleged patent overcharging
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk