If the United States enacts reform of its patent law, S 515, this year as proposed, it would cut discretionary spending by US$173 million over the period 2010-2014, according to a 30 April US Congressional Budget Office cost estimate. This in part arises from an expectation of increased volume of patent applications, on which fees are charged. But administrative costs would rise at the US Patent and Trademark Office by about $10 million over the period as a result of the switch from a first-to-invent recognition to the more globally harmonised first-to-file system, as proposed.
