On Monday, general information pertaining to the USPTO’s FY2008 budget proposal was announced via telephone press conference. The Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Steve Pinkos, announced the budget request of $1.916 billion and again requesting that the USPTO retain all fee collections it obtains. This figure is fairly consistent with the Department of Commerce FY2008 budget available from GPO Access (link below), which provides a $1.920 billion line item for “Program Level” at the “Patent and Trademark Office (PTO),” along with an equivalent negative line item for “Fees.” This is nearly a $150 million increase from the FY2007 budget of $1.776 billion. In addition to the budget announcement, the USPTO reiterated some of its 2006 office statistics, including the completion of 332,000 patent applications, an overall allowance rate of 54% (the lowest on record), and final action on over 378,000 trademark applications. The budget also anticipates the hiring of 1,200 patent examiners and an expansion of the USPTO’s telework program for Examiners.

USPTO Press Release: LINK
Presidential FY2008 Department of Commerce Budget: LINK
Office of Management and Budget FY2008 Budget Website: LINK