E 1060 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 17, 1995

Services Graduate Program. Other positions

previously held at DePaul included associate

vice president for academic affairs, director of

institutional planning and research, evaluation

coordinator, instructor and mentor of DePaul’s

School for New Learning. Dr. Yanikoski’s additional professional experience includes his

work as research assistant for Chicago’s

Spencer Foundation, part-time instructor for

Loyola University’s Program in Higher Education, and mentor for Native American Education Services College of Chicago.

A prolific writer, Dr. Yanikoski has published

numerous articles in professional journals and

is currently preparing his first book, ‘‘Academic

Freedom in Higher Education,’’ to be published by Greenwood Press. He has been a

guest speaker, session leader, and invited

panelist for over 30 professional organizations.

A variety of higher education, religious, and

governmental institutions have sought his expertise as a reviewer and consultant. In addition, Dr. Yanikoski has received numerous

awards and distinctions in honor of his dedicated years of service to higher education. For

example, Dr. Yanikoski has been recognized

by the American Men and Women of Science,

Who’s Who in the American Education, Who’s

Who of Emerging Leaders in America, and

Who’s Who Worldwide.

The May 19, inauguration ceremony will be

a gala celebration featuring an investiture of

the President by James J. McDonough, chairman of the university’s board of trustees. As

part of the investiture ceremony, Dr. Yanikoski

will be presented the university’s medallion, a

symbol of the office of presidency. The medallion features the seal of the university which is

engraved with the Latin motto ‘‘Via Veritas

Vita,’’ which translates as ‘‘The Way, The

Truth, The Life,’’ and features a number of

elements to represent the Sisters of Mercy,

education and religion.

I ask my colleagues to join me in extending

congratulations to Dr. Richard Alan Yanikoski

as he begins his tenure as president of Saint

Xavier University. I wish him the best of luck

in his endeavors as president. I am confident

he will maintain the high academic standards

of the university and will undoubtedly add to

Saint Xavier’s rich tradition of providing quality

post-secondary education in a religious atmosphere.

INTRODUCTION OF PATENT AND

TRADEMARK OFFICE CORPORAfTION ACT OF 1995

HON. CARLOS J. MOORHEAD OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 17, 1995

Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, today, I am

pleased to introduce the Patent and Trademark Office Corporation Act of 1995, a bill that

will enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to improve the services it provides to the

public. I am pleased to have as an original cosponsor the gentlewoman from Colorado [Mrs.

SCHROEDER] the ranking Democrat on the Intellectual Property Subcommittee. Our legislation will convert the Patent and Trademark Office [PTO] to a freestanding Government corporation, giving it the operating and financial

flexibility it lacks today as a regular Government bureau in the Department of Commerce.

This added flexibility should allow the PTO to

operate more like a private business and provide better service to its customers at lower

cost.

The idea of making the PTO a Government

corporation is not new. As early as 1989, the

National Academy of Public Administration, a

nonprofit organization that studies ways to improve the effectiveness of Government, recommended corporation status for the Patent

and Trademark Office. The National Academy

reported that flexibility in budgetary and other

management matters would give the Office the

capacity needed to respond more quickly and

efficiently to its customers.

The PTO does not use any general tax revenues to support its operations. It collects fee

revenues from the sale of products and services to inventors, companies, and other customers that support the entire cost of its operations. It expects to employ more than 5,100

people and collect and spend $643 million in

1996. As a large, fully self-supporting organization, the PTO is well-suited for Government

corporation status.

The Judiciary Subcommittee on courts and

Intellectual Property, which I chair, has received testimony in support of converting the

Patent and Trademark Office to a Government

corporation. Several user groups support this

concept including the American Bar Association section of Intellectual Property Law, the

American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Intellectual Property Owners, Inc.

I understand the administration is also reviewing legislation that will recommend converting the Patent and Trademark Office to a

Government corporation. In order to encourage dialogue on the specifics of this issue, we

are, today, introducing legislation, which gives

the authority to the Commissioner of Patents

and Trademarks to manage the PTO in a

business-like manner. The bill also establishes

a Management Advisory Committee that will

afford users a voice in how the PTO is operated. The bill maintains tight congressional

oversight of the operation and requires annual

reports to Congress. The proposal, while not

modeled closely after any existing Government corporation, is designed to meet the

unique needs of the Patent and Trademark

Office and its user community. The administration’s bill will be introduced at a later date.

Under our bill, the Commissioner would be

appointed for a fixed 6-year term by the President, by and with the advice and consent of

the Senate. The management of the PTO

would be vested in the Commissioner, and the

Commissioner would appoint all other employees, including a Deputy Commissioner for Patents, a Deputy Commissioner for Trademarks,

and an inspector general. The PTO would be

exempt from administrative or statutorily imposed limits on the number or grade of Government employees. The Patent and Trademark Office would become an independent

agency outside of the Department of Commerce. There are differing views on whether

the PTO benefits from being kept under the

Department of Commerce, and I believe the

subcommittee should explore the advantages

and disadvantages of an independent agency.

The fiscal year 1996 budget resolution, before

Congress now, assumes the elimination of the

Department of Commerce, which could have a

substantial impact on the future of the Patent

and Trademark Office.

Specific authority within the Patent and

Trademark Office corporation would include

the power to purchase, lease, construct, and

manage property, the power to award contracts for facilities, services, and printing, the

power to use its revenues without apportionment by the Office of Management and Budget, the power to invest and earn interest on its

money, and the power to issue bonds to finance its activities. Under existing law, longterm capital improvements, including the expensive program to automate the massive patent search files, must be paid for by current

PTO users, who will not necessarily receive

any benefits from capital improvements. Under

the bill, such improvements could be supported by bond issues.

Our bill would eliminate the practice of withholding several million dollars from the Patent

and Trademark Office each year that users

have paid into the patent surcharge fund. It

gives the PTO access to all of its revenues,

including those in the Patent and Trademark

Office surcharge fund established by section

10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act of 1990. The authority to set the levels of

major patent fees would be retained by Congress, subject to the authority of the Commissioner to adjust fees annually in response to

increases in the Consumer Price Index, as

under existing law.

Officers and employees of the Patent and

Trademark Office would continue to be employees of the Federal Government. Our proposal specifies the features of the Federal personnel statutes, including those covering retirement and other benefits, that would continue to apply. The Commissioner would have

authority to set the compensation levels for officers and employees. Present law would be

retained and employees would still not have

the right to strike or to bargain over wages.

Transition provisions in the bill would govern

the shift to corporate status.

The Commissioner would receive advice

from a management advisory committee of 18

members, 6 of whom would be appointed by

each of the President, the Speaker of the

House, and the President pro tempore of the

Senate. Committee members, appointed for 6-

year terms, would represent diverse users of

the Patent and Trademark Office. The board

would be assisted by a staff, and would submit an annual report to the President and the

House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

If this legislation is to achieve its objectives,

it must be crafted very carefully, to ensure the

necessary checks and balances. A public interest is involved, and this office is the only

place the public can go to obtain a patent or

register a trademark. The PTO is not subject

to the performance pressure that arises out of

corporate competition. The bill, therefore, does

not privatize the PTO by giving it all of the

freedom of a private company.

The PTO would continue to be a Government agency under the direction and oversight

of the President and the Congress. However,

the added management flexibility provided by

the bill should improve the PTO’s efficiency

and responsiveness to the public. I look forward to working with all interested parties as

we move this legislation through the Congress.