It’s no secret that a cash crunch is looming at the USPTO. Applicants are filing fewer applications and the Office is issuing fewer patents. Office income is down as a result.
According to this article, Acting Director John Doll blames the decrease in filings on the global recession. He noted that he had “…talked to a large corporation…and they’re going through their patent portfolio to see what’s core.”
While the recession certainly deserves some of the blame, the article fails to mention other possible causes for the reduction in filings: KSR v. Teleflex and its application by the Office, examination quality issues, and the growing uncertainty surrounding patent protection in the courts. The company “going throough [its] portfolio” may simply be focusing on the applications that are likely to pass patentebility muster in light of KSR, as opposed to being the victim of budget cuts. It seems likely that all of these things are contributing to any decrease in the overall use rate of the patent system.
Related posts:
- Supreme Court in Graham v. John Deere – The new framework will provide consistent examination and address the backlog of applications
- The best choice for Under Secretary for IP/Director of the Patent and Trademark Office – a fresh face with more than the right resume
- Inconsistency between Patent Office and Federal Circuit applications of Bilski?
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# posted on 03.17.09 at 11:27 am
Also the PTO’s way off and completely wrong interpretation of Bilski
# posted on 03.17.09 at 6:41 pm
Not to mention that people just don’t seem to have quite the inventive spirit like the days of old…where are the Edisons, Bells, Teslas, etc…?
# posted on 03.18.09 at 5:46 pm
edison didnt have to deal with such a corrupt and bungling PTO.
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