A group representing patent examiners and professionals in the United States said that the patent reform proposal now in the U.S. Congress would hurt the American patent approval process. The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), which claims to represent more than 5,000 members, distributed a patent policy paper (PDF) in Washington this week, stating that H.R. 1908 and S. 1145 includes a "dangerous requirement that would effectively outsource the patent search, allowing applicants to contract searches to anyone, including foreign entities." The group wants Congress to focus on job retention, providing examiners enough time to review applications, and increasing resources, rather than changing the system. The group claims that an Applicant Quality Submission requirement in the bills would make applicants provide a search report of all relevant patent and non-patent literature.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:37:06 am into the following categories: In The News

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