The Washington Post resurrects the patent quality debate

The Washington Post is hitting on a lack of quality at the USPTO:


The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is so focused on rewarding its employees for the number of applications they review that the quality of patents they give out is in jeopardy, according to the Government Accountability Office.

(...)
“The strength of the U.S. system relies on the granting of strong patents, ones that are truly novel and non-obvious inventions, those that are true innovations and not the product of legal gamesmanship,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who requested the audit, said in a statement.

The committee has called patent office Director Michelle Lee to testify in September. Goodlatte called the hearing “an important opportunity for the Judiciary Committee to conduct the appropriate oversight to ensure that our intellectual property laws are being implemented fairly and in line with Congressional intent.”



link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/07/20/patent-office-tktk/