The group said the PTO should be statutorily allowed to keep the fees it collects from applicants and not have that money diverted to other federal projects. While congressional appropriators and the Bush administration have let the office do this in recent years, the change should be codified in law, the ABA said. Another recommendation was to expand the right of the public to submit "prior art" in pending patent applications -- a modification that would ensure an examiner has all the relevant information. The ABA also suggested the PTO take a number of steps to ensure that it retains and recruits a high- quality workforce. Read ABA's full submission here.