House again considering PTO user fees, more patent reform

Representatives introduced two bills in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking to make changes at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including a bill that would allow the agency to use its user fees without congressional appropriation. The Innovation Protection Act (H.R. 3349) would create a revolving fund into which user fees collected by PTO would be deposited. The fund would not be subject to appropriation by congress or fiscal year limitations.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) -- which was signed into law in 2011 and switched patent priority in the U.S. to first-to-file from first-to-invent -- ended the diversion of user fees from PTO to fund other parts of the government. However, the agency's user fees are currently managed by the U.S. Treasury and congressional appropriation is still required for PTO -- which is funded solely by user fees -- to access the funds. ...