Amid Criticism, Congress Limits Spending at Patent and Trademark Office

This past December, the United States Congress placed a spending limit on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which may restrict its ability to make progress on the estimated 1.2 million pending applications, deepening the existing backlog. USPTO officials were disappointed not to receive a $100 million budgetary provision which would have been spent on hiring and training additional patent examiners.

“Critics of Congress’s recent actions argue that the USPTO is being hamstrung at a time when it needs to direct as much time and resources as possible to address the application backlog,” said Boyle Fredrickson attorney Keith Baxter. “They believe that, historically, more efficient patent application processing leads to an increase in innovation and product development – which in turn can create more jobs and give a lagging economy a much needed boost.”

According to a recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by reporter John Schmid, nearly 50 USPTO examiners a month are quitting, causing staffing shortfalls. These shortfalls exacerbate problems caused by preexisting staffing issues at the USPTO.

For more details on the budget restriction, click HERE to read Schmid’s article in the Journal Sentinel. For further insight into the situation, contact your Boyle Fredrickson attorney.