3 ms·
Ask HN: What incentivizes patent clerks to verify claims?
It would seem to me these government workers, no matter how bright, would still be most fundamentally rewarded for number of patents reviewed, and challenging a claim seems like it must be more difficult than accepting it, as a challenge requires the patent clerk to 1) claim understanding and 2) possibly cause more strain in the office if the applicant fires back. And I suspect most of these clerks have moved on and are well clear of any repercussions by the time their decisions get invalidated in court.<p>Is there any way to validate their decision-making outside the courts? Preferably much earlier?
- btilly 17y agoYou'd be better off asking what incentivizes the Patent Office to do careful review. The answer, when they get paid by the patent seekers, is that every incentive aligns with giving out patents freely. Is it any wonder that they have settled for being generous in handing out patents, and are content to let the courts do the bulk of the real review? (Ignoring the costs to society of having so many invalid patents available as threats.)
- niels_olson 17y agoMakes me think of the rating agencies that facilitated the latest bubble: paid by the applicants. What sorts of inflation could exist within the patent market and how could one burst the respective bubbles?
- imp 17y agoI have a friend who works for the patent office reviewing patents, and I've asked her a bit about the process. Overall, they are incentivized to verify claims because they want to do a good job. Same as any other employee at any other job. I don't think they're penalized for rejecting claims and rewarded for letting things through. Their goal is to act appropriately to each case. Where any problems occur due to bad patents being approved seems to be due to time constraints in reviewing patents. My friend didn't think that the patent system is "broken" by any means. Her opinion was that they just need more qualified reviewers. They are hiring like crazy, or at least they were a few years ago.