Tessera applauds President Obama’s efforts to spur innovation

SAN JOSE, USA: Tessera Technologies Inc. announced its enthusiastic support of President Barack Obama’s efforts to strengthen the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to help spur innovation.

In a letter this week to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Obama asked Congress to consider allocating an additional $129 million in funding to the USPTO for the coming fiscal year.

The President said his proposal "would support efforts to reduce backlogs in processing patent applications – by spurring innovation and reforming U.S. Patent and Trademark operations to make them more effective."

"While much more can and should be done to help the Patent Office, the President’s request for additional funding is exactly the sort of leadership our Nation needs to help ignite innovation and job growth," said Henry R. Nothhaft, chairman and CEO, Tessera.

"We have been saying strongly and loudly that additional support for and reforms at the patent office will lead to good things for the innovation economy. We are delighted that the President is engaged on this important issue and hope the Congress will support this request."

Nothhaft has been a vocal advocate for improvements at the USPTO. Speeding the backlog of patent applications and improving the quality of patent examinations not only will help bring new technologies to market faster, Nothhaft argues, it also will help reduce the amount of patent litigation.

"Improving the USPTO is the simplest, most effective and most measurable step toward strengthening our patent system and spurring job creation," added Nothhaft.

The $129 million appropriation increases the patent office’s spending authority to an amount equal to the fees it expects to collect this year. Under President Obama’s proposal, the $129 million increase for the USPTO will be fully offset by a corresponding decrease in the appropriation for 2010 Decennial Census program in the US Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau.