The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office would gain power over the revenue it collects under an amendment the Senate approved Tuesday, a step seen as critical to reducing the lengthy backlog in processing patent applications.
The Senate measure would end the practice of diverting fees paid to the patent office to other government programs. It came as an amendment to legislation that would carry out the first major overhaul of the patent system in almost 60 years.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who promoted the amendment, said that last year some $53 million in application and other fees paid to the patent office was spent elsewhere.
The provision, which also allows the office to set its own fees, aims to rectify a backlog: 700,000 applications are awaiting initial action, and it takes three years to get a patent request granted.
The overall bill, which is expected to pass this week, would also carry out fundamental changes in how patents are processed. Instead of the current system where patents are given to the first to invent, the United States would adapt the system used by all other industrialized nations, where they go to the first to file.
The White House, which supports the bill, said the first-to-file system would simplify the process of acquiring patent rights, reduce legal costs, improve fairness and support U.S. innovators.
The switch has been opposed by independent inventors and smaller companies concerned that they wouldn’t have the resources to compete with corporate competitors, but Patent and Trade Office Director David Kappos told reporters Tuesday that the transition comes with increased legal certainty to assure that smaller businesses would not be disadvantaged.
“First-inventor-to-file is a win for all American innovators, of all sizes and all industries,” Kappos said.
Kappos also welcomed provisions giving his office more control over fees, saying it would allow the office to…