The House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet took a sober and thoughtful look Tuesday into a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision that found the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s administrative judges are not constitutionally appointed.

The panel heard testimony that Congress can fix the problem relatively easily. But at least one subcommittee member raised the possibility that other perceived problems with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, established by the 2011 America Invents Act to hear administrative challenges to patent validity, would also have to be addressed.