Submission of Topics for USPTO Quality Case Studies
43 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2016
Date Written: February 12, 2016
Abstract
This Comment responds to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Request for Submission of Topics for USPTO Quality Case Studies, published December 21, 2015. As empirical scholars interested in using data to drive policy-making, we commend the USPTO’s approach of using “case studies” of the type specified in the RFC — i.e., “reviews of applications” and “examiner work products” — to help illuminate, inform, and hypothesis-test potential best practices in patent quality. However, we would like to draw attention to two, thus far largely overlooked sources of data outside the USPTO’s own prosecution records: (1) the prosecution records of foreign patent offices that examine counterparts to applications filed in the U.S. and (2) the outcomes of lawsuits and other proceedings that review the validity of issued U.S. patents. We propose three case studies that leverage these data sources for your consideration.
Keywords: patent quality, open data, European Patent Office, non-patent literature, foreign prior art, patent trial and appeal board, inter partes review
JEL Classification: O34, K41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation