Patent reform has been on the congressional agenda for years. A compromise, S.23, passed the Senate on March 8 by an overwhelming 95-5 vote, and the House is about to pass H.R.1249 late this week. However, a battle over whether all patent fees must be used to fund the Patent Office may derail the effort.
House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) insisted that patent fees remain within the purview of the Appropriations Committees. They cut a deal with the Judiciary Committee to keep patent fees as appropriations, but would reserve excess funds, beyond what is needed for the Patent Office, in a new account that could be used by appropriators as they see fit. The compromise may not sit well with the Senate, which wants all patent fees devoted to the Patent Office.
Over the past two decades, over $800 million has been used for unrelated purposes as the patent application backlog has grown to 750,000 which wait an average of nearly 35 months to be approved, according to this Commerce Department White Paper. This is a good example of how Congress hampers economic growth.
By the way, Sarah Palin and her daughter Bristol have just applied for trademark protection of their names, so they are on the waiting list too. Yesterday's Wall Street Journal has the details here.
Generated by BlogIt
BlogIt - Auto Blogging Software for YOU!
