Losing the Race
Is the Patent Office's slowness putting U.S. innovation at risk?
As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) celebrates its200th birthday this year, it also faces the gravest predicament inits history. Put simply, the office can no longer keep pace withthe burgeoning number of patent applications it is currentlyreceiving.
In the 1980s, the USPTO received about 150,000 applications peryear; over the past decade, it has averaged nearly 300,000applications annually, as the growth of the Internet has led to aspike in patents and inventors have begun patenting incrementalimprovements. The office now has a backlog of more than 300,000applications, generally considered the most complicated legaldocuments in the world. While in the 1980s the average amount oftime between filing for and receiving a patent was roughly 18months, the average has risen to 26 months. Brigid Quinn of thePatent Office has admitted the USPTO is "an agency incrisis."
Continue reading this article - and everything on Entrepreneur!
Become a member to get unlimited access and support the voices you want to hear more from. Get full access to Entrepreneur for just $5.
Entrepreneur Editors' Picks
-
This Co-Founder Was Kicked Out of Retailers for Pitching a 'Taboo' Beauty Product. Now, Her Multi-Million-Dollar Company Sells It for More Than $20 an Ounce.
-
Have You Ever Obsessed Over 'What If'? According to Scientists, You Don't Actually Know What Would Have Fixed Everything.
-
After He Was Fired From the UFC, This Former Fighter Turned His Passion Into a Thriving Business
-
Most People Don't Know These 2 Things Are Resume Red Flags. A Career Expert Reveals How to Work Around Them.
-
How One Woman Turned Pandemic-Induced Boredom and a Makeshift Garage Art Studio Into a Thriving Franchise
-
Use These 4 Self-Care Rituals for More Resilience and Less Depletion
-
Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran Wants to Invest in 'Someone Who Probably Needs a Good Shrink Instead of a Business'
