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In your concerns you cite above, it seems to me that what you consider to be "valid" patents are obvious by my criteria.

However, in some cases, the major inventive step is contained in finding the problem, while the solution is rather trivial. In some cases, everyone skilled in the art failed to acknowledge that there even is a problem to be solved.

If people don't realize there is a problem to be solved, the PTO can publish "The Problem To Be Solved" (P2BS) in a more general manner. In fact, we could make it so that the submitter of the patent application submits the wording for the P2BS. For example, if people have taken for granted that they must (let's say) line up to buy tickets, and the submitter wants to say, "My idea is that we don't have to line up at all, but I don't want to give it away," then s/he can submit the P2BS as "the problem of frustration when buying tickets" etc. Then other people submitting Counterexamples Of Obviousness (COO) might come up with ways to make the queue move faster, but not hit on a way to dispense with the queue altogether. But this makes the P2BS rather vague, and I'm not sure that the patent is particularly valid.

Another problem is that if the public would submit a solution within the set time frame - it still might very well be inventive.

Perhaps this cuts closer to where you and I differ. If the public submits a COO within the time frame, the patent "still might very well be inventive", but it's obvious and should not be granted. This happens all the time in software. There is a special situation that needs special algorithms, which are quite inventive, but if someone else can easily come up with the same inventive algorithm, I don't think you can justify granting a patent that will lock other people out of using your obvious inventive invention for the next X years. I mean, you see inventive solutions generated all the time --just go to any library and take a glance at books on "How To Stimulate Your Creativity" etc. In fact, someone on Slashdot provided a link to a web site that provides such inventive ideas:
http://thesurrealist.co.uk/priorart.cgi?ref=Prior_art_by_Mindcontrolled

IMO, the solution is more simple. Increase staff at the USPTO.

Here is an example of the antithesis of an inventive suggestion. In this economic climate, you think that the answer to the upswell of patent trolls is to throw more money at the PTO? Tell the PTO to work even harder? I guess throwing more money at a problem can be a solution to any problem. I was looking more for ways to harness the energy of the motivated public, and make it easier for any given size of PTO.

Its the Prior Art Generator. Its only fair. They have infinite computers to generate infinite patents, but now you can hit reload until you win that $50,000:

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/priorart.cgi

I thought something very similar when I started reading the story, but the combinations of boroughs changed my mind. There are so many factors involved in crime clear up rate that this story is still fairly worthless (and it is from the evening standard, who love moaning about anything they can lay their hands on).

So, we have 5 'High camera' boroughs, they're all officially classed as inner london and have a correspondingly high crime rate. Of the 5 high camera boroughs, 2 sets of 2 are neighbours, Lewisham and Greenwich and Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Hackney and Tower Hamlets are an interesting pair, one has an above average clear up rate, and one has a lower than average clear up rate. These two boroughs between them (tower hamlets in whole and southern hackney) constitute the East End, traditionally thought of as one of the worst slums in Europe. The area consists mostly of social housing and old victorian terraces (for the gentrifiers), both boroughs have a stonkingly high crime rate (especially Hackney, which has a feirce reputation for drugs, guns and violent crime). Discussing the subtle differences between the boroughs (of which there are many) is outside the scope of the post, my point is that the factors that effect crime are broadly similar, as is the crime rate and number of cameras. Some other factor is effecting the clear up rate.

As for the low camera boroughs, the average price for a house in 'The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea' is now over $2,000,000US and Sutton is an affluent southwestern suburb flirting with rural Surrey with one of the lowest crime rates in London. Waltham Forest however is home to some of the poorest and most deprived neighbourhoods in London, lying just NE of Hackney.

My point is that to look at the clear up rate and number of CCTV cameras is really oversimplistic, but that's what the evening standard does.

And the winner is...
http://thesurrealist.co.uk/monster.cgi?att=Bungie& def=Miyamoto&a=S

this one's mine cause I found it!

Here's another that would be useful and would be useful.

Now,this is useful.

Here's one that we should have thought up years ago :-)

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/priorart.cgi?ref=406895 3994

Something that's actually useful (mentioned here 'cause it's from the same guy): The Prior-Art-O-Matic. "It's a series of randomly-generated product ideas! It raises questions about the nature of prior art in patenting issues, has some inspiring ideas, and is occasionally amusing!"

From the website: http://thesurrealist.co.uk/priorart.cgi

"It's a series of randomly-generated product ideas! It raises questions about the nature of prior art in patenting issues, has some inspiring ideas, and is occasionally amusing!"

Design #1384685891

It's a shower head that jumps like a frog and displays pornography.

If they did, they would just get this.

• Halfbakery.com - a lively discussion of partly-baked ideas
• Smartfunusa.com - Cartoons by Kiva Sutton
• Idea-x.net - idea exchange software
• ShouldExist
• Global Ideas Bank
• ThinkCycle
• yet2.com
• Idea Exchange
• brainhead.com
• Ideas Happen - contest site for 18-29 year olds
• I Called It! - site for posting predictions
• openideas.net
• BrainFlower - revolutionary idea exchange
• Ideas by Creativity Pool
• Idea a day - "Where ideas are free."
• The Idea Oven
• Prior-Art-O-Matic - truly random product ideas
• Totally Absurd Inventions - America's goofiest patents
• Forbes
• Springwise.com - Springwise is an inspiring free newsletter that tracks emerging why-not ideas from all around the world
• Trendwatching.com - Trendwatching is a second free newsletter that lives up to its name

With apologies if it's been posted before..

The Prior-Art-O-Matic

You need one of these

Wasn't "OCSystem Enhanced Radeon 9700 Pro" enough? Why add "level III SE"? is there a "Level II" avaliable? I assume the "level I" is the off-the-shelf radeon 9700 pro. And SE? Why not DX or LX or SSEi or Vtec or VVTi? ;-)

Man, the video card market is beginning to look like the car market: over-marketed. Soon, you will be able to order cards colored from a selected palette, or get bucket seats as a "Deluxe" option! There will be "the video card for the discriminating buyer", the "all-terrain video card for the outdoorsman in you", and other punch lines direct from this place!

"It's an oven that's better than the last one, has a built-in calculator and automatically avoids obstacles."

What obstacles? AMD of course!

Props to anybody who can find an invention of that description first in the Prior-Art-O-Matic

Why am I not surprised that when you get something like the Prior-Art-O-Matic from the UK that they would take it just one step too far.