To Improve Patent Quality, Let’s Use Fees to Weed Out Weak Patents

9 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2016

See all articles by Brian J. Love

Brian J. Love

Santa Clara University - School of Law

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 12, 2016

Abstract

This Essay is based on comments I submitted May 6, 2015 in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Request for Comments on Enhancing Patent Quality. It proceeds in two parts. First, I share two general observations about the PTO’s current slate of New Quality Proposals: specifically, it fails to include any reforms that apply post-issue or any reforms that exercise the PTO’s fee-setting authority. Second, building on these observations and two recent empirical studies of mine, I outline two proposals that I urge the PTO to consider: specifically, an increase in maintenance fees and a decrease in fees for post-issue administrative challenges.

Keywords: patent quality, maintenance fees, post-grant proceedings, inter partes review

Suggested Citation

Love, Brian J., To Improve Patent Quality, Let’s Use Fees to Weed Out Weak Patents (March 12, 2016). Berkeley Technology Law Journal Commentaries (March 12, 2016), Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2789094

Brian J. Love (Contact Author)

Santa Clara University - School of Law ( email )

500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
68
Abstract Views
735
Rank
271,197
PlumX Metrics