APPENDIX 11.-LETTER FROM JOE B. PATE, JR., PRESIDENT, COTTON UNLIMITED, INC., TO COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS, DATED JUNE 10, 1991 Only last November, most Patent Office fees were, amazingly The Patent Office now, in the middle of a recession, proposes Small business creates a large portion of the technology necessary for the United States to compete in the world marketplace. If the Patent Office has as it's goal giving a technological edge to Japanese and other large foreign companies, it surely will succeed with the proposed fee increases. Stripping U. S. industry of the ability to protect the technology COTTON UNLIMITED, INC. is a leader in developing environmentally safe oil spill containment material, insulation, and other products. These products utilize cotton and other natural fibers and are marketed internationally. COTTON UNLIMITED, INC. needs to patent its technology. Phone: (806) 495-3501 Old Mill Road Post, Texas 79356 Fax: (806) 495-3502 Page two Honorable Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks June 10, 1991 The Patent Office is pricing patent protection out of the market. COTTON UNLIMITED, INC. STRONGLY OPPOSES ANY INCREASE IN PATENT OFFICE FEES. Sincerely Joe&tate, J.. Joe B. Pate, Jr. JBP/sp Cc: Senator Dennis DeConcini Senator Orrin G. Hatch Senator Ernest F. Hollings APPENDIX 12.-LETTER FROM WAYNE R. GLASS, DIRECTOR, WASHBURN UNIVERSITY OF TOPEKA, TO HON.WILLIAM J. HUGHES, DATED JUNE 10, 1991 In November of 1990, fees charged by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office were increased 69 percent, essentially without the opportunity for public comment as to the impact of such increases. It is my understanding that another increase in fees of 91% is planned within Administration Authorization Bill H.R. 1613. Fees that were at one time $1,975 for registration and maintenance of a patent will rise to over $6,000! While the dollar amount of these increases is staggering enough, the impact on the small, individual inventor is immeasurable. Throughout history, it has been the independent inventor and small business which has brought us some of our most important innovations. For example, air conditioning, the airplane, pacemakers, the helicopter and much of our micro-electronics technology were developed by either independent inventors or small businesses. In either case, the ability to obtain a patent has been a key to encouraging innovation, as the patent provides the inventor exclusivity to his or her invention. Many of the inventors we work with will be priced out of the patent market by the increases in the patenting fees. On top of the patent office fees, the inventor also has to pay attorney's fees in a system that is prohibitive for "self-patenting." Effectively prevented from patenting, their innovations will languish on the shelf, out of fear that any market introduction will result in the invention being stolen. I would encourage you to oppose any increases to the patent office fees. The necessity of having the patent process open to those needing it demands that the system be designed (and priced) so as not to exclude them. |