Acting Director Teresa Stanek Rea (at right) sent the
following memo to USPTO employees regarding the possibility that the government
will be shut down if Congress fails to agree to a continuing resolution to fund
government agencies for the rest of this year:

Dear
Colleagues,

As you know, the Obama administration is working
diligently with Congress to try to ensure that the federal government remains
open and continues to do its work on behalf of the American people. However, I
wanted to inform you that even in the event of a government shutdown on
October 1, 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will
remain open, using prior year reserve fee collections to operate as usual for
at least a few weeks. We continue to assess our fee collections compared to our
operating requirements to determine how long we would be able to operate during
a government shutdown; we will update you as more definitive information becomes
available.

Because the USPTO maintains sufficient carryover
funding from prior fiscal years, our agency can and will stay open for business
for a period of time using these available reserves. During that time we will
all continue to conduct our duties and serve our Nation, by processing the
patent and trademark applications that drive our country's innovative economy.
Should we exhaust these reserve funds before the government shutdown comes to
an end, USPTO would have to shut down at that time, although a very small staff
would continue to work to accept new applications and maintain IT
infrastructure, among other functions.

I realize you likely have many more questions. As
new information becomes available, we will inform you promptly and thoroughly.
Your respective business unit managers will also be reaching out to you to
provide further clarification, as needed.

I thank you for your hard work, and the
continuing dedication you demonstrate to the American people.

Sincerely,

Terry Rea

Hat tip to Hal Wegner for
alerting us to this memo.