USPTO Performance and Accountability Report - U.S. Patent and ...

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Trademark Renewal Rates 1 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 2
Renewals 28.9% 29.3% 29.3% 29.3% 28.7%
1 Note: the renewals occur every 10th year for trademarks registered after November 15, 1989. For trademarks issued or renewed
before November 15, 1989, renewal will occur after the 20th year and the renewal will be for a ten-year period. For example, in
FY 2012, 28.7 percent of the trademarks granted ten and 20 years ago were renewed.
2 Preliminary data
Trademark registration can be a recurring source of
revenue. To some extent, renewal fees recoup costs
incurred during the initial examination process.
As shown above, the renewal rates for trademarks
have remained fairly stable over the last five years,
indicating continued earned revenue from this
source. Further, in the FY 2013 President’s Budget,
earned revenue from trademark renewals is
expected to continue in the future.
Program Costs
Program costs totaled $2,321.0 million for the year
ended September 30, 2012, an increase of $172.9
million, or 8.0 percent, over FY 2011 program costs of
$2,148.1 million. The USPTO’s most significant program
cost is personnel services and benefits, which
comprise approximately 70 percent of USPTO’s total
program costs. Any significant change or fluctuation
in staffing or pay rate directly impacts the change in
total program costs from year-to-year. Total personnel
services and benefits costs for the year ended
September 30, 2012, were $1,626.4 million, an increase
of $112.4 million, or 7.4 percent, over FY 2011 personnel
services and benefits costs of $1,514.0 million.
This change was predominantly the result of a net
increase of 1,321 personnel, from 10,210 at the end of
FY 2011 to 11,531 at the end of FY 2012.
The USPTO directs maximum resources to the
priority functions of patent and trademark examination,
as well as IP policy, protection, and
enforcement worldwide. For FY 2012, costs directly
attributable to the Patent, Trademark, and IP protection
business areas represent 83.7 percent of total
USPTO costs. The remaining costs, representing
support costs, are allocated to the business areas
using ABC accounting. Allocated costs increased
9.6 percent over the past year in line with increased
IT investments.
PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT: FISCAL YEAR 2012
Patent
Total costs for the Patent business unit increased
$423.7 million, 25.6 percent, from FY 2008 through
FY 2012. The Patent organization’s most significant
program costs relate to personnel services, and
account for 92.5 percent of the increase in total cost
of Patent operations during the past four years.
Patent personnel costs for the year ended September
30, 2012, were $1,385.4 million, an increase of
$103.8 million, or 8.1 percent, over FY 2011 personnel