Financial Highlights: Budgetary Resources and Requirements
BUDGETARY RESOURCES AND REQUIREMENTS
The USPTO was provided appropriation authority to spend all planned fee collections in FY 2006. In the past, the appropriation authority was less than planned fee collections. When spending authority is less than fee collections, the additional fee collections are temporarily unavailable.
The following table presents the source of funds made available to the USPTO, and the use of such funds.
| Source and Status of Funds | FY 2003 | FY 2004 | FY 2005 | FY 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Source of Funds: |
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| Unobligated Beginning Balance | $ 5.6 | $ 3.5 | $ 2.3 | $ 5.7 |
| Recovery of Prior Year Obligations | 5.9 | 10.4 | 7.6 | 9.1 |
| Spending Authority from Offsetting Collections | 1,194.7 | 1,321.7 | 1,504.2 | 1,665.4 |
| Non-Expenditure Transfer | – | – | – | (0.1) |
| Net Increase in Unavailable Fees | (11.7) | (99.9) | – | – |
| Total Source of Funds | $1,194.5 | $1,235.7 | $1,514.1 | $1,680.1 |
|
Status of Funds: |
||||
| Obligations Incurred | $1,191.0 | $1,233.4 | $1,508.4 | $1,674.4 |
| Unobligated Balance, Available | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 5.7 |
| Unobligated Balance, Unavailable | 1.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 | – |
| Total Status of Funds | $1,194.5 | $1,235.7 | $1,514.1 | $1,680.1 |
During FY 2006, total budgetary resources available for spending increased 11.2 percent over the amount available in the preceding year. This significant increase in budgetary resources available for use is depicted by the graph below.
DFor the second year in a row, the USPTO was provided with full use of its fee collections. This allowed the USPTO continued flexibility towards meeting the goals of the 21st Century Strategic Plan , including transitioning to a fully electronic operating environment, improving the quality of its services and products, and addressing patent and trademark pendency. The additional funding has enabled the USPTO to substantially increase the number of patent and trademark examiners to assist in addressing the growing average complexity of patent applications and increasing workloads and to allocate additional resources towards protecting intellectual property in the United States and abroad. As a result, the USPTO was able to meet virtually all of the performance goals and continue reforms that assure intellectual property relevancy in a highly competitive, global marketplace.
