Funding Cuts Stall USPTO Backlog Initiatives

Originally published May 17, 2011

The recent federal budget compromise will cut approximately $100,000,000 from the fees collected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and divert that money to other federal programs. The cuts result from a budget provision that limits USPTO spending to $2.09 billion for the 2011 fiscal year, despite expected fee collections of about $2.19 billion for the same period.  

In response to the funding cuts, USPTO Director David Kappos announced that the expedited patent examination program and the opening of the Detroit satellite office would be indefinitely postponed. The cuts will also directly affect the examination corps as Director Kappos also instituted a hiring freeze and announced cuts to overtime, training, and expenses. Funding for the outsourcing of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) searches will also be substantially reduced.