Similar reservations arise about most proposals to streamline the patent-examination process or the procedures for litigating infringement actions. Many such ideas are afloat, some pending in Congress, some originating within the PTO. One suggestion is to reduce the number of claims that may be included in a patent application. Another proposal sets a nine-month public opposition period for patents that the PTO has granted, during which challengers could present evidence and arguments against the patent without having to take the matter to court.
The one point of unanimous agreement, especially striking among a group of lawyers, is that funding is the overriding issue and, therefore, that congressional fee diversion should end—for good. Even with that threat removed, the PTO might not soon fulfill Gary Griswold’s dream of “valid patents issued promptly in a cost-efficient manner.” But it would have less justification for falling so very short.
