The latter portion of 1996 brought with it the possibility of sweeping reforms at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Indeed, omnibus bills were introduced in both Houses of Congress (HR 3460, S 1961) to reconstitute the PTO as a free-standing government corporation (much like the United States Postal Service), with policy direction from the Secretary of Commerce. Supporters argued that greater operational and management flexibility would likelyincrease the agency's cost-effectiveness.
In a move supported by the PTO, the Senate bill further sought to move the Copyright Office into that government corporation and thereby establish the United States Intellectual Property Organization, or "USIPO." Those opposed to consolidation -- among them, the Registrar of Copyrights -- maintained that the Copyright Office is best left under the auspices of the Library of Congress rather the Commerce Department, pointing out that the former is better suited to oversee the free dissemination of ideas, artistic expression and other such information. Indeed, skeptics point to a predicted five-fold increase in copyright fees as yet another reason to maintain the independence of the Copyright Office.
Other intellectual property issues likely to resurface early in the next Congressional session: patent term extensions for unusual administrative delays in the PTO; early publication of patent applications; a limited infringement defense for good-faith prior uses of a patented invention; third-party participation in patent examinations; and foreign priority of provisional applications, international applications and plant patents.