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To: Manx who wrote (4749)	2/5/2002 6:35:07 PM
From: Gus	Respond to of 5195

USPTO gets long-awaited Dubya-shaped expansion. Patent office gets workforce boost in Bush budget By PATRICK THIBODEAU (February 05, 2002) WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office would see the number of patent examiners grow by nearly a third under the Bush administration's budget plan, with 950 examiners added to a staff of 3,200 in an effort to speed up a patent process that can take more than two years. The increase is needed to help the office process applications before "the technology becomes baggage on the Mayflower," James Rogan, director of the patent office, said at a press briefing today. Under the Bush budget plan, which was released yesterday, the patent office would get a 21% increase in funding, to $1.365 billion. The patent office operates from the money it gets from patent fees; under the proposed budget it would receive 100% of all the fees it collects, something its critics have been requesting for many years. The budget proposal also calls for a surcharge on patent applications, a move that if enacted as part of the overall budget would raise $45 million for the agency through fee increases. Patent applications fees would rise by approximately 19% and trademark applications fees by 10% under the plan. The patent and trademark office gets about 350,000 applications annually. The average processing time is 24 to 25 months. Comment: New patent workload goes from an average of 109 new applications per examiner per year to 84 new applications per examiner per year or a 23% decrease. Average processing time goes down from 24 months to 18 months or by the same 23%? Average number of patent lawsuits for every 100,000 patents also go down by the same 23%? Less money for lawyers means more money for inventors?More money for inventors eventually means more people than lawyers?<g> Patent examiners usually have engineering and science degrees; starting salaries range from $50,000 to $70,000. Although the government has had difficulty attracting top technology talent in recent years, Rogan said the current job market is making government employment more attractive. computerworld.com