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March 08, 2004

PATENT OFFICE USER FEE DIVERSION

PATENT OFFICE USER FEE DIVERSION BILL PASSES HOUSE

By a vote of 379-28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1561 on March 3, 2004.  The extraordinary margin of victory was a major win for the technology industry and broader business community that has opposed the diversion of user fees from the PTO to other governmental expenditures.  The sponsor of the bill estimates that more than $750 million in user fees were diverted over the past decade.

...from GovExec.com:

"It would be hard to overstate the sense of relief in the business community, particularly the high-tech sector," over passage of the bill, said National Association of Manufacturers President Jerry Jasinowski. He said his group has "watched with dismay" as PTO performance deteriorates.

"Modernizing the U.S. patent system will enable us to bring cutting-edge technologies to consumers faster, which could help spur economic growth and job creation in the U.S.," said Rhett Dawson, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, whose members include Apple, Canon, Dell, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.

"For the first time, there has been something done" about the thorny issue of fee diversion, said Mike Kirk, executive director of American Intellectual Property Law Association. "If it passes the Senate, it would end diversion" and likely pave the way for the office to get far more money."

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:19 PM.
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