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TCH Applauds White House’s Call to Enhance USPTO, Will Offer Educational Support on Critical Components of U.S. Infrastructure

Washington, D.C. – February 20, 2014 – With The Clearing House at the forefront, the nation’s leading banks have been working to strengthen and support the examination process at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  The banking sector is a vital component of the United States’ critical infrastructure, creating an engine essential for driving economic growth and job creation, particularly through the extension of small business loans.  A strong patent system is necessary for continued innovation in the United States. Ambiguous and invalid patents, however, not only undermine this modernization and improvement process but also threaten the safety, soundness and security of our nation’s financial infrastructure. We applaud the Administration’s call to the nation’s community of key innovators to enhance and support the USPTO.  In response, The Clearing House pledges to develop educational materials and host education sessions with USPTO patent examiners with a focus on the most critical components of our financial infrastructure. The Clearing House also pledges to coordinate with the USPTO to establish a vehicle, such as an existing commercial database, to collect and provide patent examiners with access to non-patent materials describing our financial infrastructure.

About the Clearing House

Established in 1853, The Clearing House is the oldest banking association and payments company in the United States.   It is owned by the world’s largest commercial banks, which collectively employ 1.4 million people in the United States and hold more than half of all U.S. deposits.  The Clearing House Association L.L.C. is a nonpartisan advocacy organization representing, through regulatory comment letters, amicus briefs, and white papers, the interests of its member banks on a variety of critically important banking issues.  Its affiliate, The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., provides payment, clearing, and settlement services to its member banks and other financial institutions, clearing almost $2 trillion daily and representing nearly half of the automated clearing-house, funds-transfer, and check-image payments made in the United States.