Great suggestions in this article: * eliminate the issuance fee (that is paid when a patent is granted) and raise the application fee to compensate, to elimina

Great suggestions in this article: * eliminate the issuance fee (that is paid when a patent is granted) and raise the application fee to compensate, to eliminate the perverse incentive for the PTO to grant patents * use renewal fees to rebate application fees for individual and qualified small-business applicants (the amount of the rebate depending on the amount of renewal money coming in) * only allow an application to be refiled once; the second rejection is final * allow examiners somewhat more time to examine each patent All of these would help the situation. Finally, the article argues against funding the PTO through fees. I can put it no better than the author: "While a user-funded patent office sounds good in theory, the reality is that the social costs of bad patents are high — and they're borne by the general public, not patent holders."