USPTO budgets $70.2 million for IT

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials said they plan to use much of the agency’s $1.8 billion budget authority for fiscal 2007 to hire additional patent and trademark examiners and establish higher standards for certifying and recertifying examiners. President Bush’s proposed budget recommends that USPTO be allowed to keep all the fees it collects from patent and trademark filers.

The agency’s fiscal 2007 budget for information technology includes $70.2 million in proposed spending to improve the agency’s patent automation system and $18.2 million to enhance its trademark automation system.

USPTO’s IT spending plan contains $12.1 million for business continuity, a risk-based program to protect the agency’s information systems during a disaster. Agency officials requested an additional $10.1 million to add case tracking, attorney enrollment and other capabilities to USPTO’s Web-based information dissemination management system.