It is refreshing to read a fair and balanced article on the state of the patent system. Especially from a seemingly mainstream publication.

The system that has served so well for so long -- its basic concepts reside in the U.S. Constitution -- is hardly on the verge of collapse. But inefficiencies and abuses must be corrected if we expect another 225 successful years from U.S. patent law.

Maybe it will be possible to have an intelligent national conversation about what needs to be done to improve a patent system that is already one of the best in the world. This article also seeks to provide solutions to the situation the intellectual property community has found itself in so as to continue to encourage innovation in this country.

While high volume is good for business, it also leads to overworked patent examiners -- something that the GAO report also documents. The examiners are highly talented and hardworking, but they don't have enough time to devote to each patent they are assigned. The job has been complicated further by the rise of interdisciplinary fields and the convergence of technologies and markets. In how many fields can we reasonably expect these examiners to be experts? One solution: Allocate more money for recruiting, hiring and retaining patent examiners.

Tags: patent, patents, intellectual