Senate panel votes to let Patent Office keep fees

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Thursday to allow the Patent and Trademark Office to retain the estimated $1.5 billion in fees it collects rather than having the money go to the government's general fund.

The legislation (S. 1754) proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is aimed at helping improve the processing of applications for inventions and trademarks.

"To keep qualify high and review periods short will require resources, and I think it only fair that the fees our innovators pay for services at the PTO be used by the PTO and not diverted to subsidize other government activities," Hatch said in a statement.

The legislation, sent to the Senate on a voice vote, also requires the director of the Patent Office to develop an electronic system for filing and processing of patent and trademark applications that is easier for the public to use. The bill authorizes $50 million a year for two years to develop the electronic system.

President Bush's budget estimated that some $1.5 billion in fees will be collected in fiscal 2003, which begins Oct. 1.