The United States Patent Office (“USPTO”) faces criticism from its users and legislators that the speed of the patent process and the final quality of the patents granted are insufficient. To address these criticisms, Congress has made several changes to USPTO authorities over the past decade and considered additional changes in 2009. Nonetheless, problems persist and some stakeholders argue that reorganizing the The USPTO into a state corporation would be the best way to alleviate these problems by broadening its scope. his authorities and thus freeing him from external constraints. The USPTO had a backlog of more than a million patents at the end of 2008. Given the rapid pace at which technology is currently evolving, the demand for patents will only increase. The average time to examine and issue a patent is thirty-two months. The office is unable to maintain a sufficiently trained staff, even though it hires 1,200 new employees each year. The attrition rate at the USPTO is over ten percent, significantly higher than at any other agency. This is particularly burdensome because the USPTO requires three to five years to train new employees. Among the many proposals to alleviate these problems is that Congress would restructure the USPTO into a state corporation. Congress considered this proposal several times in the 1990s, and the National Academy of Public Administration (“NAPA”) issued a report supporting the idea. Although H.R. 400 passed the House of Representatives in 1997, the Clinton administration preferred, and Congress passed, legislation establishing the USPTO as a performance-based organization ("PBO"). Proponents of structuring the USPTO as a state corporation argue that the USPTO will be better able to serve the middle of paper......ed States Patent Office, supra note 1, at 11.Id . Identifier. at 13-14.Id. to vii.Id. at ix-x.Restructuring the United States Patent Office, supra note 1, at 27-28.Id. at 11.Id. at 24-25.S. 610, 111th Congress. to the Sect. 9(a).S. Rep. No. 111-18 Additional Opinions of Senators Coburn, Hatch, Grassley, and Kyl (2009). Restructuring the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1, at 12.Id.Id.See, Restructuring the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1, p. 15-28. Restructuring of the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1, p. 15.Id. at 16.Id.Id.Id. at 15. Restructuring of the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1, at 15.Id. at 19.Incorporating the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 12, at 32.Restructuring the Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1, at 20-21.Id. at 21-23.Id. has 15-28.