This is the right solution, to have a website that shows all patent applications, and allows everyone to comment on it. After the 90 days the comments can be examined, to see if the patent should be granted. But this can be an ongoing process, so further prior art can be added anytime for approved patents. This way the system is more like a forum, web board for applications. If the patent owner would want to litigate based on infringement, the prior art section would have to be re-examined, with the cost and burden on the patent owner for the process. This is fair, as the owner is who wants to use the patent system for financial gain. Introducing such changes will fix much of the current problems.
The biggest problem IMHO seems to be security. Viruses sending out email form one's mailbox will cause many dollars worth of loss to millions of people. The only people benefiting in such scenario is the escrow comapnies.
See their extendend Q&A below. It does not rule this out, at all:
6.1 Q: What about possibility of fraud or a virus triggering bond payments?
A: There are several types of possible fraud. For example, it might be possible for someone to write a malicious virus that causes a mail program to send messages to addresses owned by the virus writers. The virus writers could attempt to claim and keep the value of the bond.
Proper safeguards will be important, but as with any financial network, it may be impossible to completely eliminate the risks. A depleted escrow account would certainly serve as an indicator that something is wrong and the machine or account has been compromised. However, liability, at maximum, would be limited to the current balance in the compromised person's escrow account.
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This is the right solution, to have a website that shows all patent applications, and allows everyone to comment on it. After the 90 days the comments can be examined, to see if the patent should be granted. But this can be an ongoing process, so further prior art can be added anytime for approved patents. This way the system is more like a forum, web board for applications.
If the patent owner would want to litigate based on infringement, the prior art section would have to be re-examined, with the cost and burden on the patent owner for the process. This is fair, as the owner is who wants to use the patent system for financial gain. Introducing such changes will fix much of the current problems.
The biggest problem IMHO seems to be security. Viruses sending out email form one's mailbox will cause many dollars worth of loss to millions of people. The only people benefiting in such scenario is the escrow comapnies. See their extendend Q&A below. It does not rule this out, at all: 6.1 Q: What about possibility of fraud or a virus triggering bond payments? A: There are several types of possible fraud. For example, it might be possible for someone to write a malicious virus that causes a mail program to send messages to addresses owned by the virus writers. The virus writers could attempt to claim and keep the value of the bond. Proper safeguards will be important, but as with any financial network, it may be impossible to completely eliminate the risks. A depleted escrow account would certainly serve as an indicator that something is wrong and the machine or account has been compromised. However, liability, at maximum, would be limited to the current balance in the compromised person's escrow account.