Changes

=Current Issues Facing the Patent System=

The number of patent applications sent to the USPTO has continued to increase over the years. Although innovation has not slowed, critics of the patent system point to numerous flaws in the patent system and demand stricter reform. Generalized criticisms include patents slowing down or even preventing the government from enacting necessary policy reform and the creation of impractical or pointless patents which result in expensive litigation [http://www.wipo.int/patent-law/en/developments/intro.html]. More specifically, The USPTO continues to grant patents without the necessary time or resources to search all relevant references. As of January 2016, the current patent backlog is 561,585 [http://www.uspto.gov/dashboards/patents/main.dashxml (USPTO)], leading to more cases being referred to lower, random courts. These courts increase the cost of processing a patent application and rely on juries without technical or procedural expertise to decide whether high level technology or processes satisfy the requirements for protection [https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-congress-needs-to-pass-the-innovation-act-this-time]. Additionally, critics believe that the amount of patent litigation and patent infringement claimed has created a "disastrous environment for innovation." [http://www.wired.com/2012/11/ff-steven-levy-the-patent-problem/ (Wired)] Litigation and lawsuits result in a significant decrease in product development as proven in 2015 as Google and Apple invested more in supporting patent purchases and litigation than in R&D.[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/technology/patent-wars-among-tech-giants-can-stifle-competition.html?_r=0 (NYT-PW)] The biotechnology industry as a whole provides new ethical challenges to the patent system and introduces new competitive threats such as me-too drugs. Me-too drugs are approved after a pioneering drug and function as substitutes [http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/topics/ip/Me-tooDrugs_Hollis1.pdf (WHO)].