Can the Patent Office Set Its Own Rules?
After years of complaints regarding backlogged patent applications, cramped resources and alleged abuse of the system, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) introduced a new set of rules to the patent application process. PTO claimed the rules would prevent abuse and allow for a more effective review process, while critics countered that the rules would unfairly inhibit innovators seeking patents. In August 2007 an inventor sued the agency, claiming that the agency’s proposed rules regarding continued applications (those re-filed after a rejection) would cause him to lose potential right to inventions that result from his original work. The case was later joined by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
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