The United States Patent and Trademark Office is a federal agency that is vaguely familiar to most Americans, but one that generally stirs little interest except in those who directly interact with its sometimes arcane operations. A broader understanding of its work and the obstacles it currently faces in accomplishing its assigned tasks would be instructive.
The office, to put it succinctly, has problems. Currently, according to most objective observers, it is unable to fulfill its basic task — examining patent applications. That is, to be sure, esoteric and often complicated work, but that’s not the reason the agency currently finds itself in a state of considerable disarray.
The extent of the problems that beset the agency were revealed last year by a hard-hitting investigative series undertaken by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The paper reported last summer that the office had a backlog of 1.2 million patents and that 700,00 of those had not received an initial examination. The problem is so extensive that it now takes an average of almost three years for the office to provide a ruling on patentable ideas.
In an environment where innovative ideas are the currency that fuels progress, such delays are not only unconscionable but damaging. Industry and individuals that require patent protection in order to bring new products to market, to create jobs and to help rebuild the economy can’t do so in the current circumstances. The office requires significant reform.
There is a blueprint for such change, but it needs help to become reality. Some assistance is at hand. David Kappos, director of the office for less than a year, has identified problems — an archaic computer system and flawed personnel policies, for example — and attempted to remedy them. He’s done about as much as he can do to promote efficiency and improve the standard of service without expanded funding. Help might be on the way.