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Every Day Is Goof-Off-At-Work Day At the US Patent and Trademark Office

Posted by samzenpus on from the I'll-do-it-later dept.

McGruber writes An internal investigation by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found that some of its 8,300 patent examiners repeatedly lied about the hours they were putting in and many were receiving bonuses for work they did not do. While half of the USPTO's Patent Examiners work from home full time, oversight of the telework program — and of examiners based at the Alexandria headquarters — was "completely ineffective," investigators concluded. The internal investigation also unearthed another widespread problem. More than 70 percent of the 80 managers interviewed told investigators that a "significant" number of examiners did not work for long periods, then rushed to get their reviews done at the end of each quarter. Supervisors told the review team that the practice "negatively affects" the quality of the work. "Our quality standards are low," one supervisor told the investigators. "We are looking for work that meets minimal requirements." Patent examiners review applications and grant patents on inventions that are new and unique. They are experts in their fields, often with master's and doctoral degrees. They earn at the top of federal pay scale, with the highest taking home $148,000 a year.

9 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. Public servants don't give an arm and a leg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Film at 11.

    1. Re:Public servants don't give an arm and a leg by ArcadeNut · · Score: 5, Funny

      I love on $39,000 a year, and you can't imagine making less than $150,000?

      What's wrong with this picture?

      You're spending too much on the ladies?

      --
      Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
  2. Patent US 99063520 A by AlecDalek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Patent US 9063520 A: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
    A method and system for under-performing approval of patents.

    1. Re:Patent US 99063520 A by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Patent US 9063520 B: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
      A method and system for under-performing approval of patents on the internet.

  3. Where do I sign up? by aitikin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seriously? You're posting this here without telling me how I can get this job? From the sounds of it, I could do it in the background while at my real job.

    --
    "Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
  4. There's hope... by gnasher719 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... that one of them will find the successor of General Relativity in his goof-off time :-)

  5. Wow - good thing by kilodelta · · Score: 3, Funny

    I was recruited by a friend for a patent examiner position. Glad I declined because instead I get to spend my time surfing slashdot instead.

  6. Obvious by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Funny

    I would have thought this Obvious given that Einstein developed the theory of Relativity, revolutionizing nearly every field of science, all while working there.

    Let's see... light is always propagated in empty space with a definite velocity...
    er...
    Icons with round corners? Approved... ...which is independent of the state of motion of the emitting body...
    One click purchase? Whatever... approved...
    That is, light in vacuum propagates with the speed c...

  7. Cue Hypocrisy by LordLimecat · · Score: 3, Funny

    Im just waiting to see how many people hop onto the "Goofing off at work? HOW HORRIBLE" bandwagon during work hours.

    Wait, crap.