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USPTO New Accelerated Review Process
Intron writes "Perhaps you have been lying awake worrying that your software patent on bubble sort might spend too much time being "examined" or "peer reviewed". You will be pleased to know that the US Patent and Trademark Office has launched their accelerated review process. "Applicants' submissions enjoy a presumption of patentability" says the patent office. Applicants are also responsible for disclosing any prior art."
nothing.
We all know that the USPTO aren't exactly fantastic at finding prior art and reviewing patent applications particularly well, especially in the software arena. Whatever the reason for this, passing it off onto the applicant isn't going to improve this situation much. Whilst the USPTO might not find any prior art in checking an application, the applicant has no real incentive to find prior art either.
The only way it will make any significant difference is if an applicant doesn't submit an obvious piece of prior art, the USPTO find it in the accelerated review process, and then reject the patent on lack of detail in the application.
We really need a comprehensive examination of the effect that patents have on the distribution of resources within large corporations. I suspect it may turn up some interesting results.
We need to keep in mind that every dollar that goes to the lawyers who handle patent-related matters is one less dollar going towards the scientist and engineers responsible for research and development. And as we all know, it's the R&D that really has an impact on the world. It's this R&D that brings us the new products, techniques, practices and knowledge that help improve our lives, as well as better our use of our current resources.
On the other hand, the legal departments of most corporations generates little, if anything, in tangible wealth. They're mostly just a shield against the legal departments of other competing corporations. IP-based lawsuits tend to be nothing more than a cycle of nonproductivity. The engineers and scientists develop practical knowledge, only to have the lawyers fight endlessly over who "owns" this knowledge, all while consuming huge amounts of resources.
If the money that went to fight these pointless IP battles instead went to the R&D department, we'd likely see a great increase in the development of new technology. In the biomedical field, for instance, this could potentially lead to the creation of treatments for a wide variety of ailments. Now compare the benefit of such development to that offered by the lawyers. What we'll find is that the medical developments will offer a real benefit, while the legal developments will be little more than useless boxes full of paper.
Economists often claim that patents are necessary to ensure innovation. But I think these same economists are overlooking the extensive benefit that could arise were resources not wasted on petty legal battles over these patents, but instead directed towards more productive uses.