This is a link post.

The current patent process has some problems. Here are some of them.

patenting is slow

The US Patent Office tracks pendency of patents. Currently, on average, there's 20 months from filing to the first response, and over 25 months before issuance.

That's a long time. Here's a paper on this issue. It notes:

The USPTO is aware that delays create significant costs to innovators seeking protection. The result? A limiting of the number of hours an examiner spends per patent in order to expedite the process. As such, the average patent gets about nineteen hours before an examiner in total, between researching prior art, drafting rejections and responses, and interfacing with prosecuting attorneys. Plainly, this allotment is insufficient.

A patent application backlog means it takes longer before work is published and other people can potentially build on it. It also [...]

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Outline:

(00:11) patenting is slow

(01:17) examiners are inconsistent

(02:01) patents take effort

(04:04) international patents are hard

(05:17) courts

(05:20) lawsuits are expensive

(05:33) lawsuits are slow

(06:09) judges are appointed by politicians

(07:42) most judges dont understand technology

(08:22) conclusion

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First published:
July 14th, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qKCgnSaf5JRvtxDEQ/patent-process-problems

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“patent process problems” by bhauth

LessWrong (30+ Karma)