Intellectual Property

Patent Examination and Copyright Office Issues Gao ID: T-RCED/GGD-96-230 September 18, 1996

This testimony focuses on intellectual property issues. In the patent examination area, GAO discusses (1) patent pendency--the amount of time that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) spends examining an application to determine whether an invention should receive a patent; (2) PTO's resources committed to the patent process, the trademark process, the dissemination of information, and executive direction and administration; and (3) PTO's workload and examination process in comparison with those of other industrialized countries. In the copyright area, GAO discusses (1) the possibility of transferring the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress to another organization; (2) possible additional revenues that the Copyright Office could charge if it recovered all costs; and (3) the impact on the Library, including the Copyright Office, of revisions to its competitive selection process as a result of the settlement of a class-action discrimination suit.



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