Patent Law Practice Center

Trump’s proposed budget would give PTO $3.6 billion for FY 2018

Several weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump released his proposed FY 2018 budget under the title A New Foundation for American Greatness. A review of the budget and supporting Commerce Department Appendix suggests the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has received everything it requested, and will not suffer fee diversion during the next fiscal year if the President’s FY 2018 budget passes Congress.

The President’s Message on FY 2018 Budget

“This Budget’s defining ambition is to unleash the dreams of the American people,” President Trump wrote in the Budget Message of the President accompanying the release of the FY 2018 budget. “This requires laying a new foundation for American Greatness.”

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House Bill Would Exempt PTO from Sequestration

On Friday, June 28, 2013, three members of the House of Representatives from Northern California submitted a bill called the Patents and Trademarks Encourage New Technology (PATENT) Jobs Act. The purpose of the legislation is to exempt the United States Patent and Trademark Office from sequestration budget cuts and to allow the USPTO full access to the collected user fees.

The text of the bill is not long. The main provisions contained in Section 1 of the bill under the title “Termination of Sequestration in Fiscal Year 2013 for the Patent and Trademark Office,” says:

“Notwithstanding the presidential order issued on March 1, 2013, under section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901a), on and after the date of the enactment of this Act, the budgetary resources sequestered under such order with respect to the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be available for obligation for the same purpose and in the same manner as if such order had not been issued. The other section of the bill, Section 2, would exempt the USPTO from sequestration budget cuts for fiscal years 2014 through 2021.”

(Pictured: Rep. Zoe Lofgren)

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USPTO Update: After Final, Software and Sequestration

Recently there has been some interesting news coming from the USPTO…and about the USPTO budget, courtesy of AIPLA taking up the fight against sequestration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). What follows is a synopsis of events over the past week.

Addressing the RCE Problem

Last week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in the Federal Register that it would modify the After Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP) to create an After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0). The goal of AFCP 2.0 is much the same as it was when the USPTO initially introduced the precursor AFCP. According to the USPTO, the goal of AFCP 2.0 is to reduce pendency by reducing the number of RCEs and encouraging increased collaboration between the applicant and the examiner to effectively advance the prosecution of the application. Thus, this can and should be viewed as part of the USPTO effort to continue to try and address the RCE problem. (more…)

Interview Exclusive: USPTO Director David Kappos

Written by Gene Quinn (of IPWatchdog.com and Practice Center Contributor)

On Monday, July 19, 2010, I was granted behind the scenes access to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and was allowed to follow USPTO Director David Kappos throughout the day as he went from meeting to meeting. I have already chronicled much of the events of the day in the previous article– Behind the Scenes:  A Day in the Life of David Kappos. At the end of the day I was granted a 30 minute interview with Director Kappos, which appears below.

In this interview Kappos discusses with me his management style, his famously long hours, how he manages to inspire the Office to work harder than ever before, his efforts to get funding for the Office, how the USPTO can help innovators create new businesses and new jobs, and how to inspire young people to do public service. We also learn that he and Judge Rader share the same favorite movie (see Judge Rader Interviewat the end), he likes Star Trek and Star Wars equally (an astute political answer no doubt) and the famous American inventor he would like to meet is a “Mount Rushmore” inventor.

In terms of interview mechanics, I was joined in Director Kappos’ office by Drew Hirshfeld, Chief of Staff, and Peter Pappas, Chief Communications Officer and Kappos’ Senior Advisor.

Now, I proudly present my interview with Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos.

QUINN: Thank you very much Director for taking the time at the end of this day.

KAPPOS: You Bet!

QUINN: I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to get an inside view of the PTO. And one of the things I try to do whenever I sit down and chat with people is to get a behind the scenes look. I got a good look today but one of the things I’d like to ask you about, since you spent so many years in the private sector, is what management techniques have you brought from the private sector into the government? (more…)