[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14579]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICES SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2010

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5874, received from the 
House and is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 5874) making supplemental appropriations for 
     the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr, President, I support H.R. 5874, the U.S. Patent and 
Trademark Office Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. This bill 
gives the Patent and Trademark Office additional funding to tackle the 
patent backlog, helping innovative businesses protect new ideas faster.
  The Patent and Trademark Office is the central hub of an innovation 
friendly Government. It protects intellectual property in the United 
States and encourages invention, innovation, and investment. New 
patents boost America's competitiveness, increase productivity, bring 
new products and services to market, support entrepreneurs and small 
businesses, and, most importantly, help to create new jobs.
  As chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations 
Subcommittee that funds the Patent and Trademark Office, I have been 
critical of this agency's performance. The Patent and Trademark Office 
has struggled for years to reduce patent pendency and tackle the 
overall patent backlog. I have heard from inventors and businesses 
about how long it takes the Patent and Trademark Office to protect 
their ideas.
  I have also heard from Patent employees about their unrealistic job 
performance standards which have led to high turnover of patent 
examiners. Numerous reviews conducted by the Government Accountability 
Office showed that for every two examiners hired one leaves the agency.
  But the good news is that Patent and Trademark Office has new 
direction, and within the past year, the agency has made some very 
positive changes. Thanks to Director Kappos, employee management has 
been reformed, meaning more patent examiners are staying and working. 
The Patent and Trademark Office has also created a better strategy for 
approving patents quicker and reducing the patent backlog. We are 
finally seeing the Patent and Trademark Office make strides in the 
right direction, and I want to support this momentum.
  This year, the Patent and Trademark Office will collect $129 million 
more fees than originally expected. These extra funds mean that Patent 
and Trademark Office has the potential to further reduce the backlog 
even faster. H.R. 5874 allows the Patent and Trademark Office to spend 
this additional revenue. This amendment is fully offset by rescinding 
unused funds from the 2010 census.
  This bill has the same goals as an amendment I offered this week to 
H.R. 5297, the small business bill, because improving patent protection 
is critical to helping innovative small businesses grow. This bill also 
mirrors the President's request he sent Congress on July 12, 2010, 
asking for these exact funds for the Patent and Trademark Office, 
offset by the rescission from the Census.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5874, the U.S. Patent and 
Trademark Office Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. The Patent 
and Trademark Office needs to get back on track, and funding within 
this bill ensures the Patent and Trademark Office has the resources it 
needs to process applications in a reasonable time and keep critical 
examiners on board to continue issuing patents. By supporting this 
bill, we can give American businesses and inventors a helping hand to 
stay innovative.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate has acted 
quickly and in a bipartisan way to ensure that fees collected by United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, are not diverted for other 
purposes this fiscal year.
  The Director of the USPTO has done a remarkable job in his short 
tenure dealing with a massive backload of patent applications and a 
serious budget shortfall. The action that Congress has taken today will 
at least provide short term financial help to the agency by ensuring 
that the USPTO is not penalized for having done more work this fiscal 
year than it had anticipated.
  More needs to be done to modernize and improve our patent system, 
which is a crucial component of our economic recovery. Bipartisan 
patent reform legislation is ready for Senate action. This bill will 
provide the legal structure we need to allow our inventors to flourish. 
It will improve our economy and create jobs without adding a penny to 
the deficit.
  While I strongly support the action the Senate has taken today, we 
cannot fix our overburdened and outdated patent system simply through 
additional appropriations. Congress must act on meaningful patent 
reform legislation this year.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in 
the Record, without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 5874) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

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