Well done.

I intend to write another input to the Director of the USPTO in response to his solicitation for input (recall that it was Opty who submiited the previous response).

I intend to suggest that patent application fees, a primary source of funding for USPTO operations, be doubled beyond recently announced increases and the fees for requests for re-exam be quadrupled.

I will then suggest that this is an "easy sell". This because with the currently increasing backlogs, the following is the scenario the inventor has to look forward to:

- A four to five year wait for the application to be acted upon and, with no or minimal difficulties (assuming a viable patent), issuance of a patent. During this period, patent rights are difficult to enforce.

- If the patent is at all "significant" and being infringed, not only probably legal battles in federal court (which will take years to resolve) but also USPTO approval of a request for re-examination of the patent based on suspected prior art (which may or may not be applicable) by the infringing party(ies) either as a planned "re-emptive strike" or in response to a court order.

- A four to five year wait for the re-examination effort to conclude, even if there is litigation for patent infringement in progress from day one. During this period, the ability to enforce patent rights is seriously impaired.

- Upon Notice of Intent to Re-Certify (NIRC) the patent either intact or with claims amended, USPTO approval of another request for re-examination which may have been requested by the same infringing entity(ies) or a third party which is likely another infringing entity or the agent of infringing entities. This follow-on request for re-examination may have the exact same claims of prior art as the prior request.

- A minimum nine month wait for the USPTO to act on the re-examination even after counsel for the inventor has formally notified the examiner that there exist no New Significant Questions of Validity because all cited prior art has been examined in prior re-examination(s) and overcome. During this period and until action is concluded by the USPTO, enforcement of patent rights is seriously encumbered. Also, through this entire process, outstanding litigation is crippled due to uncertainty as to validity of the patent.

So, with current fees and resultant USPTO funding and resources, this is the bleak outlook for the inventor. A four to five year wait before there is any possibility of patent right enforcement, followed by some indefinite number of years (four to five years minimum) before potential effective patent right enforcement due to re-exams/validity in question. Also, during the re-examination process(es), the term for patent right enforcement is shrinking.

Recognition of this bleak scenario should easily justify a dramatic increase in fees, and may "weed out" inappropriate applications for new patents and frivolous requests for re-examination.

But is the above scenario realistic? See patent number 5809336. I am investor in a company that owns rights to this patent. I am being significantly damaged (more like financially destroyed) by the abmissal performance of today's USPTO.

SGE