I have commented repeatedly on the attempts by the United States Patent and Trademark Office ('PTO") to dramatically change the patent application process.  Apparently the political appointees at the PTO no longer want the PTO to perform the job it has done for two centuries.  Instead, the PTO wants to limit claims and it even raised new rules that would effectively require patent applicants to pre-examine their own patents.

While the PTO has lost for the time being in Court, it is pushing Congress to implement its agenda.  The following is from the American Intellectual Property Law Association ("AIPLA").   Because the AIPLA is an industry association for attorneys in a variety of positions, it usually does not take action unless there is widespread agreement on the issue.  The following is a quote from the AIPLA's recent news alert:

    "I am writing to bring to your attention a provision that has not garnered the same level of debate and criticism as some of the other, higher profile issues. The provision in question is Section 11 concerning "Applicant Quality Submissions" or "AQS." This provision, which the PTO is pushing very hard, mandates that the Director require all applicants to submit a search report and analysis relevant to patentability with every application. If enacted, the AQS requirement would dramatically impact all patent applicants by significantly increasing the cost of patent prosecution and by increasing their exposure to charges of inequitable conduct.

AIPLA has written to the Senate leadership and visited numerous Senate offices to express its strong opposition to this provision. We have pointed out that such a requirement would significantly increase the cost of filing applications (as much as three times based on the AIPLA Economic Survey) and substantially increase the likelihood of later inequitable conduct charges given the failure of S. 1145 to adequately constrain this defense."

Because these provisions will increase patent costs dramatically, they will have a significant impact on the ability of solo inventors and small companies to protect their inventions.  This will have a particularly negative impact on Utah technologies, as most of our inventors work on their own or in small companies.

I would encourage anyone in the technology industry to contact Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett to encourage them to reject the Patent Reform legislation in its particular form.