USPTO to ring fence funds under House bill
Three members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill under which the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) would be permanently funded.
HR 3349, launched by representatives Conyers, Watt and Collins on Monday, seeks to create a revolving fund into which the agency would deposit its fee revenues.
Revenues in the “public enterprise fund” would be solely for the USPTO’s use, without fiscal year limitation, to cover all reasonable expenses incurred by the office.
If adopted, the bill would strike the USPTO’s “appropriation account”, under which the agency is subject to annual appropriations.
Industry group the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) said hopes of the America Invents Act (AIA) solving the “perennial” problem of USPTO funding have been dashed by sequestration.
Sequestration requires the US government to cut spending to control its federal budget. Under the scheme, approved in 2011, the government committed to reducing federal spending by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
In 2013, the USPTO is set to have lost around $150 million to sequestration. The AIPLA is unhappy that hundreds of millions of dollars in USPTO fees are being diverted to government programmes.
Todd Dickinson, AIPLA executive director, said serious enterprises cannot be expected to function well when their resources dry up and they “cannot plan or make reliable commitments”.
“We thought the compromise of the AIA had fixed this problem; it obviously hasn’t. The time has come for Congress to provide the USPTO with the ability to do the work its customers pay for by ending the possibility of fee diversion, once and for all.”
Scott Wofsy, chair of Edward Wildman Palmer LLP’s IP department, said it was very important to ensure that collected fees are maintained at the USPTO.
“These are needed now more than ever before – as the USPTO is hiring a significant number of patent judges,” he said.
The AIA created new procedures such as the Patent and Trial Appeal Board, which has hired around 170 judges to date.
Wofsy continued: “The USPTO needs a significant amount of funds to attract people to take these positions.”
The USPTO is also upgrading its technology systems, he noted, and opening satellite offices outside its headquarters in Washington, DC.
“All of these require funding,” he said.
He added: “This is a tremendously important issue. I hope that something happens in this session before the year ends, but who knows with the discussions about the debt ceiling and funding of the government – they are going to come back.
“I hope this doesn’t get lost in the weeds,” he said.
The bill is available here.
