How to Fix U.S. Patents

Frisky070802 writes "IEEE Spectrum has an interesting article on how to fix the U.S. patent system. It starts with an example of how broken the system is, with Smuckers suing a small company for crustless PB&J. It has a great overview of how the system has evolved and how much it favors the big patent holders, and suggests 3 specific fixes: 'create incentives and opportunities for parties to challenge the novelty and nonobviousness of an invention before the PTO grants a patent,' examine the important patents meticulously; don't waste effort on the unimportant ones that can be ousted early, and for examining prior art, use judges and special masters rather than uninformed juries."

US Patent for USB OS -(Portable operating system)

[Anonymous Coward]

not cool for DSL, feather linux, puppy and others USB GNU/Linux distros : link to Patent on "Portable operating system and method to load the same " [uspto.gov].

Re:And the chances...

[EmbeddedJanitor]

There's also an ego thing "We're more inventive than xxxx because we generate more patents".

One way to fix this is with the "patent pending" status that was (and perhaps still is) used in some countries. A pending patent has this standing for a year and can be challenged relatively easily diring this stage. However, there are so many patents being issued in the states that this process just breaks down.

Not a problem, I don't think

[EmbeddedJanitor]

The patent is on the OS transport and loading, not on the OS itself. It particularly mentions Linux as an OS that can be loaded.

If you buy one of these people's gizzmos to store Linux then this is OK. If you manufactured an equivalent gizzmo and tried to sell thet then that would not be OK.

Statute of limitation on patent infringement suits

[theluckyleper]

One of the major problem with patents (in my mind) is the fact that patent holders are permitted to sit on their patents and do nothing, even when they are aware of infringing acts. Then, 10 years down the road, they spring out of nowhere with the infringement suit. This is what Unisys did with GIFs [burnallgifs.org]. Unisys allowed the web to become addicted to GIFs, without filing any suits. No, no... they bided their time! Wait until everyone is dependent on GIFs, THEN spring the trap; that's the key! I find this behavior to be underhanded and repugnant. UNISYS HAD TO KNOW! As if they were not aware that GIF was the image format of choice on the web. It's impossible.

Increased fees at the USPTO

[lothar97]

President Bush just signed the fiscal year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes large changes in the way fees are charged at the USPTO. Before yesterday, there were lump sum fees charged for patent applications, such as $395 for filing a basic utility patent application. Now it is is $150, but now you have to pay two new fees: $250 for a search fee, and $100 for an examination fee. It's now $500 for a basic utility patent application, for a small entity (sole inventor or less than 100 employees). Also, for each claim over 20, it's $25, up from something like $6 (I forget the amount). Extra claims over 20 are $50 for a large entity.

This basically means that it got a lot more expensive to file patents in the US. It's not uncommon for patent applications to have 100 or more claims. Filing fees are lower if you file electronically, but e-filing is a pain (it's not through standalone application, it's through a bloated Word macro that converts things to XML). The USPTO has long griped that it does not get to keep all of the money collected by fees, and methinks that this is another way to generate revenue by the government.

Re:Correction

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact, it's been proven that patents hinder competition, but they don't hinder innovation.

Software patents do hinder innovation.

Re:Fixing it...

[pthisis]

Guess what a patent is worth outside of a courtroom? $0. Guess what a flimsy patent is worth inside a courtroom? $0.

That's BS. A lot of small companies will settle a patent dispute even when the patent they have allegedly infringed is a flimsy one, especially if the requested licensing fees are substantially lower than the cost of going to court and getting the patent invalidated. Result: $$$ for the patent holder of a flimsy patent, without setting foot in the courtroom.

schizophrenia, depression, unemployment...

[Goonie]

Look, I fully support the legalization of the stuff, but there's evidence that marijuana can seriously screw with the heads of some people.

This New Scientist article [newscientist.com] discusses the evidence for a link between regular pot use and schizophrenia. There is also a possibly a link between pot and depression, but it's hard to tell because regular dope smokers often fail at education and end up unemployed - not exactly a great outcome either.

The Swiss way

[tepples]

wouldn't the more enlightened way to curb gun violence be to have gun training programs at every high school, and teach people how to be responsible assault rifle owners?

Yes, and Switzerland does it roughly this way.

Maintenance fees

[tepples]

U.S. patents already have such maintenance fees [uspto.gov], and large corporate holders of patents still pay them.