Ouch! I guess I've got to watch my mail.
I have three theories, all of which are mere conjecture:
1.) With an increasing number of patents being issued, the weekly issues
have been getting noticeably thicker and heavier. Witness the issues in
November which had to be issued in two parts. This is adding to the printing
and mailing costs, which the GPO must recover.
2.) With the advent of more and more free online patent search services,
many subscribers may be canceling. Fewer subscribers, the higher the
per-unit cost, which the GPO must recover.
And the most far-fetched:
3.) The GPO may be anticipating the new 18-month publication or U.S. patent
applications under last fall's patent reform act, which in time could double
the size of the O.G. Of course, the first 18-month publications are still a
good 13 months away, so it is unlikely this should impact the cost of the
current year's subscriptions.
Jeffrey J. Berns
Law Librarian
Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Suite 500 East
8110 Gatehouse Road
P.O. Box 747
Falls Church, VA 22040-0747
U.S.A.
tel.: +1-703-205-8090 ext. 6118 (direct)
+1-703-205-8000 (switchboard)
fax: +1-703-205-8050
e-mail: bernsj@bskb.com
web: http://www.bskb.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: Barratt, Donna [mailto:DBarratt@ThompsonCoburn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2000 4:16 PM
To: 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
Subject: Official Gazette-Patents
Has anyone else received a renewal notice for this title from USGPO? Last
year we paid $922; this year the renewal is $2698. I verified this price
with both the website and a customer service rep. Does anyone know why the
drastic increase? Thanks!
Donna Barratt
Technical Services Librarian
Thompson Coburn LLP
One Mercantile Center
St. Louis, MO 63101
(314) 552-6347
fax (314) 552-7347
email dbarratt@thompsoncoburn.com
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