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USPTO Unable to Find Top Ten Patent Holders

Posted by samzenpus on from the powdered-water dept.

lelitsch writes "So a journalist tries to interview the top ten patent holders in the US. As he finds out, neither the USPTO, nor the patent processing companies are able to identify them. Even more surprisingly, "America's greatest inventor is apparently an obscure guy in Japan who makes stuff most people can't comprehend. And the nation's greatest native inventor seems to be a man who has come up with 100 different ways to make a flower pot.""

2 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yes by terranwannabe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yet more conclusive proof of the USPTO's utter incompetence, from the people who brought you "Contradictory Patents Teach Us To Get Along" and "Everyone's Got A Little Prior Art Sometimes, That Doesn't Mean We Go Around Invalidating Patents"

    --
    If I have not seen as far as others, it was because giants were standing on my shoulders. --Hal Abelson
  2. Re:Yes by OohAhh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Of course you feel the USPTO did a good job, you got what you wanted. Now what if in fact they were initially right and you were wrong? What if they simply allowed themselves to be persuaded by inadequate arguments in order to save time and get the application processed? It's easy enough to be happy with a system that gives you exactly what you want, but that isn't evidence that it's working.