USPTO told to improve after patent litigation soars

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been told it should implement guidance on patent quality and ensure examiners have sufficient time to review applications after a near 150% rise in lawsuits was reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

According to the GAO, patent lawsuits have increased from 2,000 in 2007 to 5,000 in 2015, with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas continuing to bear the brunt of cases.

The number of defendants also rose from 5,000 to 8,000.

In 2007, 20% of all defendants (400) were sued in the Texas court but by 2015 that number rose to 50% (2,500).

According to the GAO, most patent cases involve software-related inventions and computer and communications technologies that are easy to “unintentionally infringe” because they can be unclear or broad.

According to a report, released on Wednesday, July 20, the USPTO could improve its operations and reduce the need for lawsuits by implementing a consistent definition for patent quality.

Additionally the USPTO has not properly addressed the time constraints faced by examiners or clamped down on wordy and broad patent applications, the GAO said.

After carrying out a survey of 3,336 examiners, from which the GAO received 2,669 responses, 70% (1,868) of respondents said they did not have enough time to complete a thorough examination.

Furthermore, 90% (2,402) of respondents said they “always or often” encounter broadly worded applications. Nearly two-thirds of those said that this made it difficult to complete a thorough examination.

The full report can be viewed here.