US. Trademark Association 5 I hope that these responses are helpful to you and the Committee with respect to USPTO trademark activities and functions. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or the appropriate USTA staff. Very truly yours, John J. Commis John J. Cummins President Senator DECONCINI. Thank you. It's better than the IRS knocking on your door. Mr. Armitage. STATEMENT OF ROBERT A. ARMITAGE, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, DC Mr. ARMITAGE. Thank you. My name is Robert Armitage, second vice president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and here to testify on their behalf. You have received our written statement and also a supplemental submission, a paper on Government corporation status for the PTO which I would like to have included in the record. I think I can be fairly brief. Much of what AIPLA believes and supports has been very cogently stated by Don Banner. Our view of the PTO is that its senior executive corps is a group of very dedicated public servants. What we say about the management of PTO and the problems of PTO management arise certainly in spite ofnot because of-the people in the office. Two weeks ago, AIPLA came to testify in support of the Patent System Harmonization Act. We consider that an effectively operated PTO requires a simplified, reformed, more flexible examination system. We believe any part of PTO oversight demands that careful consideration be given at the earliest possible time coupling whatever structural changes in the PTO are needed to be coupled with changes in the way the patent law itself is administered by the PTO. A third preliminary point deals with funding of PTO operations. Of course, we are dismayed that public funding for the PTO has come to an end. However, PTO quality is so important to the users of the patent system that we are prepared to support full user fee funding. However, quality and productivity have to be interrelated. It is essential that the Patent Office do its examination activities in a way that is economical. In the last several months we have come to support 18-month publication of patent applications. That will add additional cost to the system. Again, where costs are added, we are prepared to support those costs in user fees where benefits to the users are clear and undeniable. We have, however, come to the point where we think that an effective PTO requires that fundamental change be made in the way the PTO is managed. We believe that the PTO needs to be made an independent Government corporation. We believe that the PTO needs oversight by a private sector user committee, and we believe the PTO can't be managed with the financial flexibility it needs without a borrowing authority. We have come to these conclusions after a wide-ranging survey of our membership. We see in recent years not improvements in quality but a consistent pattern of quality being decreased. When we survey our membership, we find the following things. We find the examining corps itself on the patent side complains of inadequate training and supervision. We see the effects of inadequate time available to examine patent applications. We see that search files in the Patent Office have, if anything, declined in qual ity, especially as it relates to the adequacy in foreign patents. We also see quality being compromised at times because of rigid production quotas and pendency goals. We also see examiners complaining of lack of training and substantive patent law principles. In the end, we see that the Patent Office at least in our survey tools seems to have lower morale and less motivation than 5 or even 10 years ago. We ask that the PTO be made an independent Government corporation because we believe it needs strong executive leadership in the form of a Commissioner who would be appointed for a fixed term, and he would have real management responsibilities akin to what a CEO in a private company might have. We also believe that a private sector oversight Board is absolutely essential. A board would not pose conflict of interest problems where the board is properly structured. It also needs its own staff that would investigate and report to the Board and this Congress. Finally, we would urge that the Congress not apply a Band-Aid approach to PTO problems. We need to reform the patent system, the patent law, and the Patent Office. A harmonized, simplified, and reformed patent law and an independent, accountable, and reformed Patent Office are absolutely essential in our view to putting the PTO in the forefront among the major patent systems of the industrialized world. Thank you. [Mr. Armitage submitted the following material:] PATENTS COP AIPLA 48SOCIATION OF LAWY AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION 2001 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY, SUITE 203, ARLINGTON, VA 22202 Telephone (703) 415-0780 STATEMENT OF ROBERT A. ARMITAGE, 2ND VICE PRESIDENT AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE MAY 12, 1992 ON PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE OVERSIGHT AIDIA AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION 2001 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY, SUITE 203, ARLINGTON, VA 22202 Telephone (703) 415-0780 Facsimile (703) 415-0786 STATEMENT SUMMARY Oversight of Patent and Trademark Office 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AIPLA recommends that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) be established as a government corporation, independent of the Department of Commerce. a Private Sector Advisory Committee with appropriate authority and staff be created to advise the PTO and Congress on the PTO operation. borrowing authority be established to fund acquisition by PTO of capital assets if appropriated funds are not available. AIPLA believes that reform of the patent system -- both the law and how the law is administered is urgently needed to stimulate U.S. industrial innovation. The PTO has a number of significant operating problems -- some are longstanding and some are of recent vintage. In sum, the PTO lacks management, operating and financial flexibility which it can never possess as a part of the Department of Commerce. Current U.S.government fees to obtain a patent are higher than in any other country in the world. Current PTO administration of the patent law is unsatisfactory and is not improving, despite quadrupling the Office budget during the past decade. The AIPLA believes that government corporation status for the PTO and borrowing authority, together with establishing a statutory users committee to monitor PTO performance will create a situation where the PTO can begin to operate in a costeffective and efficient manner. Indeed the flexibility to respond to market forces/user needs in this manner is the fundamental purpose of the government corporation. |