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12 April 2018Patents

US needs more positive patent dialogue, says Andrei Iancu

Andrei Iancu, director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has said the US must create a more positive dialogue around patents.

Iancu made his remarks at the US Chamber of Commerce Patent Policy conference yesterday, April 11.

His address focused on two key themes: creating a new pro-innovation, pro-IP dialogue; and increasing the reliability of the patent grant.

“Our patent system is at a crossroads,” said Iancu.

“For more than just a few years, our system has been pushed and pulled, poked and prodded. The cumulative result is a system in which the patent grant is less reliable than it should be.”

He cited the main catalysts as “major reform legislation” and rhetoric around the patent system that has focused on its faults, rather than its benefits.

The US is at an inflection point, according to Iancu.

“As a nation, we cannot continue down the same path if we want to maintain our global economic leadership.”

The US, he said, has a mission to create sustained economic growth, with innovation and IP protection playing a vital role in this aim.

He said that the US’s dialogue and policies need to focus on the achievements of the nation’s inventors, successes which wouldn’t have been achieved without the patent system.

“This is how we incentivise innovation and growth,” he explained. “But, how exactly do we translate this into a better system?”

Answering his own question, he said that patent laws must be helpful for inventors.

Iancu also emphasised that the industry must focus on the reliability of the patent grant.

According to Iancu, the current law surrounding patentable subject matter is hurting innovation and, consequently, investment and job creation. He cited recent cases from the US Supreme Court including Mayo, Myriad and Alice as making the interpretation of the statute more confusing.

“Lower courts applying these cases are struggling to issue consistent results. Patent lawyers trying to advise their clients are, in turn, struggling to predict the outcome with respect to certain patents. And examiners at the USPTO must spend increased amounts of time addressing this challenging issue.”

To overcome this, he suggested that more clarity is needed.

Concluding his address, Iancu said patent examiners must have the tools they need for a thorough search and examination.

“If we want truly reliable rights, we must ensure that we issue appropriately-scoped patent claims from the get-go.”

Iancu’s full speech can be accessed here.

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