Committee leaders oppose fee section of patent reform bill

The respective chairmen of the House Appropriations and Budget committees voiced opposition to a section of the patent reform bill that would allow the PTO to set its own fees and to keep and spend all the money it collects from those fees without the approval of Congress. Reps. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made the comments in a letter to the Judiciary Committee, which last week recommended that the full House pass the America Invents Act (H.R. 1249). The letter argues that the bill would eliminate the ability of Congress to perform "substantive oversight" of the PTO and requests the bill be modified prior to floor consideration (see BioCentury Extra, June 2). ...