"...given that granting as many patents as possible is effectively the business model of the USPTO." and the one that companies exploit a lot knowing they have

"...given that granting as many patents as possible is effectively the business model of the USPTO." and the one that companies exploit a lot knowing they have backlog of cases. Each case should be examined carefully by the office. See how crowd validation can come in handy: http://patents.stackexchange.com/ http://patents.stackexchange.com/ I do not know the success rate but they have helped invalidate some patents in initial stage itself. A similar official and easy to participate program will be even more helpful. PS: I would recommend watching the movie "Flash of a genius". It is regarding invention of time delayed windshield wipers, and how bigger car companies stole idea from a guy after he pitched them.