Patent Reform Act of 2011 -- Continued --

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I would like to express my strong support for Senator COBURN's proposal to end Patent and Trademark Office fee diversion. It is a commonsense, entrepreneur friendly solution to many of the problems plaguing the Patent and Trademark Office.

Over the years, we have heard numerous complaints from constituents about the long time it takes the Patent and Trademark Office to review patent applications and render a final disposition. It is my understanding that in most cases, it takes almost 3 years for the Patent and Trademark Office to make a final decision on an application which can be costly to the applicant.

We have also heard from Patent and Trademark Office officials about the difficulties that have arisen because of their lack of control over the agency's funding model. There are 1.2 million patent applications currently pending at the Patent and Trademark Office but not enough resources to tackle the workload. The patent application backlog situation, while improving, is still a significant problem.

Senator COBURN's proposal strikes at the heart of both of these concerns by creating a revolving fund at the Treasury Department where patent and trademark fees that are paid to the Patent and Trademark Office are directly allocated back to the office. That way those funds can be utilized in a fashion most beneficial to inventors, small businesses, and academic institutions.

At his confirmation hearing in 2009, Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos told the Judiciary Committee that one of the most immediate challenges facing the office was ``the need for a stable and sustainable funding model.'' The financial crisis affecting the Patent and Trademark Office is a direct result of its current funding structure. The Patent and Trademark Office receives no taxpayer funds--it is solely funded by patent and trademark user fees. Yet, those fees are not deposited within the Patent and Trademark Office. They are instead diverted to the Treasury Department, forcing the Patent and Trademark Office to ask for funds generated by their own office to be appropriated back to them.

The Patent and Trademark Office often requests lower than the amount generated by patent and trademark fees, which results in any extra fees being diverted by Congress to address ``general revenue purposes.'' In fact, since 1992, Congress has diverted more than $750 million from the Patent and Trademark Office.

For example, as recent as 2007, 12 million user-fee generated dollars were diverted from the Patent and Trademark Office for ``other purposes.'' With 1.2 million patent applications pending--735,000 of which are simply waiting for a patent examiner to take a first action--it is clear that the Patent and Trademark Office is in dire need of those funds. I believe those fees belong to the Patent and Trademark Office and are needed by their offices to make the patent and trademark process more accessible and efficient for America's innovators.

By ending fee diversion and allowing the Patent and Trademark Office to structure its own funding model, resources would be directly allocated to areas of most concern for both the Patent and Trademark Office and American innovators. The Coburn proposal does both, and ensures that the ever expanding backlog of unexamined patent applications and the timeframe for actual examination would be addressed in an efficient manner. It is time for Congress to take action and allow the Patent and Trademark Office to control the user fees that we think they deserve so they can effectively serve our Nation's inventors and small businesses.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Source