Statement by the President Upon Releasing the Report of the President's Commission on the Patent System.

I AM TODAY releasing the report of the Presidential Commission on Patent Policy.

This report is the result of more than a year's study by some of the Nation's leading citizens. It is a balanced and thoughtful document. It promises to guide us toward the first key changes in our patent system in more than 130 years.

When I appointed the Commission on July 23, 1965, I charged it with three important tasks:

First, to determine how well the patent system currently serves our national needs and international goals;

Second, to devise possible improvements; and,

Third, to recommend any changes required to strengthen the entire patent system.

Our patent system has been an integral part of America's development. It has increased productivity. It has stimulated economic growth. It has enhanced the standard of living of all our citizens. And it has strengthened the competitiveness of our products in world markets.

But we are living in an age of vast technological advances. We must be sure that our patent system is up to date.

I am therefore turning the Commission's report over to the Secretary of Commerce, the Acting Attorney General, and my Science Adviser, Dr. Donald Hornig, with instructions to review it carefully.

In releasing this report today, I want to commend it to the attention of all interested Americans.

I also want to express my appreciation to the cochairmen of the Commission--Dr. Harry Huntt Ransom, chancellor of the University of Texas, and Judge Simon Rifkind of New York--and to the other Commission members who gave so generously of their time and their talents.