Figueroa v. United States

OPINION AND ORDER

FUTEY, Judge.

Plaintiff, an inventor who applied for a patent,1 filed a complaint under the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491, against the United States on August 7, 2001, alleging that Congress’ practice of using money generated from patent application fees paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for purposes other than supporting USPTO operations (1) violated the Intellectual Property Clause of the Constitution, (2) worked an unlawful taking, and (3) constituted an illegal direct tax. Plaintiff sought to certify a class of similarly situated plaintiffs and…