an agreement. President Barack Obama has pushed for legislation to revamp the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as part of his call for the U.S. to out-innovate rival economies, and the measure is part of a job-creation plan backed by House Republicans. The Senate overwhelmingly passed a patent bill in March, and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke sounded optimistic in an interview last week, saying he is working with congressional leaders on a compromise bill that could be voted on in the House and then quickly passed by the Senate. But Locke said the patent office needs to be able to set and keep its own fees if it is to clear out the backlog and cut down on application processing times. If the legislation passes with the funding provision intact, he plans to immediately launch a fast-track process to allow companies to pay an extra fee to get their patent processed within 12 months. The goal is to bring down the average processing time to 20 months by 2015, from the typical waiting period of nearly three years. A Commerce official Tuesday said the need for an adequate, stable funding source is one of the main principles of reform that all patent users agree on. "The ability of the USPTO to retain the fees it collects is critical to ensuring it can better meet the needs of America's innovators," the official said. Judiciary Committee chairman Smith also defended the funding proposal, saying that allowing the patent office to keep its fees won't increase federal spending or the deficit. He estimated that Congress has diverted nearly $1 billion in patent fees over the past 20 years. "Allowing the PTO to retain the fees it collects means more patent examiners to help get products to market faster," said Smith, which will lead to more jobs and tax revenue. Paul Michel, who retired a year ago as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that has jurisdiction over patent appeals, said the bill isn't worth passing unless it allows the patent office to keep its fees. Another potential roadblock emerged last week, a call by 50 House members to debate the bill's constitutionality. Supporters dismiss the move as a last-ditch attempt to derail the legislation. At issue is the central thrust of the legislation that would give patents to inventors who are first to file with the patent office, moving away from a system based on proving who was first to invent and bringing the U.S. patent system in line with other countries. While most business groups have said such a shift is needed to cut down on litigation, some lawmakers worry that small inventors would lose out in a race to file. "We believe the patent bill to be unconstitu