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Section 22 of the America Invents Act (AIA) created a Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund, where excess fees collected by the USPTO are to be deposited.[http://www.uspto.gov/patent/laws-and-regulations/america-invents-act-aia/fees-and-budgetary-issues] The reserve fund is meant to reduce uncertainty in financial stability for the office, especially during government shutdown. The reserve should be able to sustain the operations of the USPTO for three months of its patent operations and four-to-six months of its trademark operations. The office projects the reserve fund to hold $1.9 billion through FY 2019, which will allow the office "to propose reducing trademark fees in FY 2015."[http://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/an_update_on_sustainable_funding]
However, the USPTO must still petition Congress annually for permission to spend the money deposited in the reserve fund. ===Proposed Legislation=== *'''The [[Innovation Protection Act]]''' *'''and the [[Patent Fee Integrity Act]]'''have been proposed to monitor and regulate the USPTO funding.
==Fee Diversion==
