United States Patent and Trademark Office: Encyclopedia II - United States Patent and Trademark Office - Criticisms

United States Patent and Trademark Office - Criticisms

United States Patent and Trademark Office - Controversial patents

In November 2005, the USPTO was criticized by physicists for granting U.S. Patent 6,960,975 for an anti-gravity device. The journal Nature first highlighted this patent issued for a device that presumably amounts to a perpetual motion machine, defying the laws of physics [4] [5] [6] [7]. The device comprises a particular electrically superconducting shield and elecromagnetic generating device. The examiner allowed the claims because the design of the shield and device was novel and not obvious. See second listing of "Notice of Allowance"

In situations such as this where a substantial question of patentability is raised after a patent issues, the Commissioner of the Patent Office can order a reexamination of the patent. This has happened before, for example, when the Patent Office issued a patent for a method for "swinging on a swing" (U.S. Patent 6,368,227). The patent was rejected upon subsequent reexamination because the examiner found that the distinguishing feature of the invention, "yelling like Tarzan", did not "particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention" (35 USC 112) (see Reexam - Final Rejection).

United States Patent and Trademark Office - Slow patent examination

The US patent office has been criticized for taking an inordinate amount of time in examining patent applications. This is particularly true in the fast growing area of business method patents. As of 2005, patent examiners in the business method area were still examining patent applications filed in 2001.

The delay has been attributed by spokespeople for the Patent Office to a combination of a sudden increase in business method patent filings after the 1998 State Street Bank decision, the unfamiliarity of patent examiners with the business and financial arts (e.g. banking, insurance, stock trading etc.), and the issuance of a number of controversial patents (e.g. U.S. Patent 5,960,411 "Amazon one click patent") in the business method area.

The Patent Office has recently begun (as of 2005) an aggressive hiring campaign for increasing the number of examiners in the business method area to help address the problem of undue delay in examination.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Criticisms", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki