Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce Announces FY 2008 Budget Proposal for USPTO
President's request provides full access to fees

In a telephone press conference on February 5, Steve Pinkos, deputy under secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, announced the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for the Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is $1.916 billion. This is the fourth consecutive year the President's budget recommends full access to the agency's anticipated fee collections.

"The President's budget request for fiscal year 2008 allows the USPTO to build on its recent successes in improving quality and increasing the number of patent and trademark examinations," noted Deputy Under Secretary Pinkos.   "It also provides the resources to continue our record hiring of patent examiners, and to expand our efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property around the globe."

Patent examiners completed 332,000 patent applications in 2006, the largest number ever, while achieving the lowest patent allowance error rate -- 3.5% -- in over 20 years. At 54%, the patent allowance rate also was the lowest on record.  Patent allowance rate is the percentage of applications reviewed by examiners that are approved. The agency also processed a record number of trademark applications in 2006.  USPTO trademark examining attorneys took final action on 378,111 trademark applications, a 36% increase over the previous year, and achieved a record low final action error rate, with mistakes found in only 3.6% of the trademark applications reviewed in FY 2006.

In FY 2008, the USPTO anticipates hiring an additional 1,200 patent examiners and to continue expanding the agency's award-winning telework efforts. The proposed budget also allows the agency to continue toward its goal of processing all patent and trademark applications electronically.  Additionally, the President's request will allow USPTO to continue working internationally to protect American intellectual property, including expanding its Global Intellectual Property Academy and posting additional IP experts abroad. 

United States and Australia to Extend Cooperation on Patent Search and Examination Services

On January 24, 2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and IP Australia agreed to extend a project under which IP Australia provides search and examination services on international patent applications filed with the USPTO under provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).  

This agreement is a continuation of the project launched between the two offices in 2005, and is scheduled to begin on March 1, 2007, and run 12 months.

Cooperation on PCT search and examination work is part of the USPTO's ongoing efforts to improve examination efficiency and quality, while reducing the growing backlog of U.S. national patent applications waiting to be examined.   USPTO found that the quality and accuracy of the work done by IP Australia during phase one warrants extending the project and increasing the number of applications it processes.

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Fiscal Year 2006: A Record-Breaking Year for the USPTO
Patent and trademark quality best on record in over 20 years

In Fiscal Year 2006, the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) set new Agency records in goals related to quality, production, electronic filing, telework, electronic processing and hiring.

“The USPTO has spent the last four years concentrating on meeting or exceeding objective measures, as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (“The Results Act”), continuing to make system-wide process improvements, and using related metrics and measures for gauging progress,” noted Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas.  “I am proud that fiscal year 2006 was a record-breaking year for the USPTO. “These records reflect the hard work and sound decisions of more than 8,000 USPTO employees.  Over the past four years, we have focused internally -- shining a bright light on our organization, raising the bar on our metrics and measures, and making system-wide improvements. We are now seeing the results of those efforts.”

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