Much of our focus on patents recently has been on the substance of the reform proposals. Not getting as much attention is the fact that the budgetary wheels are coming off over at that US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In fact, the situation has gotten so bad that according to a story in Tech Daily, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and ranking member Jeff Sessions last night introduced a bill to allow USPTO to borrow money from its trademarks operations (a fund that is in surplus) to pay for its patent operations. (FYI - the bill has not yet shown up in the Congressional Record).
And how long can we continue to delay fixing this system?
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