The patent office appropriation is reduced by the fees it collects, to about zero
What the document says“That the sum herein appropriated from the general fund shall be reduced as offsetting collections of fees and surcharges assessed and collected by the USPTO under any law are received during fiscal year 2026, so as to result in a fiscal year 2026 appropriation from the general fund estimated at $0”
The first proviso under the Patent and Trademark Office heading. It provides that the $4,956,000,000 from the general fund falls as the office collects fees, with the expected result that the general fund pays an estimated $0. A later proviso provides that if the fees come to less than $4,956,000,000 the appropriation is reduced accordingly, and that anything collected above that figure and deposited in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund stays available until spent.
What the document actually says“That the sum herein appropriated from the general fund shall be reduced as offsetting collections of fees and surcharges assessed and collected by the USPTO under any law are received during fiscal year 2026, so as to result in a fiscal year 2026 appropriation from the general fund estimated at $0”
The office charges fees. As the fees come in, the money from the Treasury drops. In the end the Treasury is expected to pay about nothing.
The office pays for itself out of what it charges. The big number is a ceiling on what it may spend. It is not a bill to the taxpayer.
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