House Judiciary Leaders Offer Revised Fee-Setting Bill
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, announced Tuesday they are introducing a revised bill that would give the Patent and Trademark Office authority to set its own fees while including language barring the diversion of agency funds for other government programs, CongressDaily reported.
A narrower measure that would only give the PTO fee-setting authority was expected to be considered by the House Tuesday under the suspension calendar. It was pulled after several industry groups opposed it on grounds it did not include a provision that would bar such a diversion of funds.
In addition to giving the PTO overall fee-setting authority, the new bill would give the agency authority to impose a 15 percent temporary surcharge for all of its fees and prevent PTO funds from being diverted from the agency for unrelated government programs.
Several groups, including the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, which includes such companies as General Electric, Texas Instruments and 3M, voiced opposition to the original bill because it did not include the ban on fee diversion.
All three groups back a broader compromise Senate overhaul bill, which includes the PTO fee-setting language. To read more, click here. (Subscription required).
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