Lamar Smith: “I oppose the gentleman's amendment to strike the PTO fee-setting authority from H.R. 1249. Although the PTO has the…”

“I oppose the gentleman's amendment to strike the PTO fee-setting authority from H.R. 1249. Although the PTO has the ability to set certain fees by regulation, most fees are set by Congress. History has shown that such a scheme does not allow the PTO to respond to the challenges that confront it. The PTO, most stakeholders, and the Judiciary Committee have agreed for years that the agency must have fee-setting authority to address its growing workload. This need is critical. The agency's backlog exceeds 1 million patent applications. This means it takes 3 years to get a patent in the United States--far too long. The wasted time leads to lost commercial opportunities, fewer jobs, and fewer new products for American consumers. Moreover, the new fee structure will not only retain the existing 50 percent discount for small businesses, it creates a new 75 percent discount for micro entities. This benefit helps independent inventors and small businesses. The bill allows the PTO to set or adjust all of its fees, including those related to patents and trademarks, so long as they do no more than reasonably compensate the agency for the services performed. To the charge that we are abandoning our oversight of the process, I urge the Members to review the oversight mechanisms in the bill. For example, prior to setting such fees, the director must give notice to and receive input from the Patent Public Advisory Committee or the Trademark Public Advisory Committee.…”