US Patent Search Has a Ways to Go
January 3, 2017
A recent report was released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office entitled Patent Office Should Strengthen Search Capabilities and Better Monitor Examiners’ Work. Published on June 30, 2016, the report totals 91 pages in the form of a PDF. Included in the report is an examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of the challenges in identifying relevant information to an existing claimed invention that effect patent search. The website says the following in regards to the reason for this study,
GAO was asked to identify ways to improve patent quality through use of the best available prior art. This report (1) describes the challenges examiners face in identifying relevant prior art, (2) describes how selected foreign patent offices have addressed challenges in identifying relevant prior art, and (3) assesses the extent to which USPTO has taken steps to address challenges in identifying relevant prior art. GAO surveyed a generalizable stratified random sample of USPTO examiners with an 80 percent response rate; interviewed experts active in the field, including patent holders, attorneys, and academics; interviewed officials from USPTO and similarly sized foreign patent offices, and other knowledgeable stakeholders; and reviewed USPTO documents and relevant laws.
In short, the state of patent search is currently not very good. Timeliness and accuracy continue to be concerned when it comes to providing effective search in any capacity. Based on the study’s findings, it appears bolstering the effectiveness of these areas can be especially troublesome due to clarity of patent applications and USPTO’s policies and search tools.
Megan Feil, January 3, 2017
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