Changes

In recent years, there has been an increase in patent reform legislation presented and reviewed in Congress. This increase is due to wide range criticisms on current patent institutions and practices, which demand demanding stricter reform.

USPTO: The In April 2016, the USPTO's current had an unexamined patent backlog for May 2016 is upwards of 549,896and 352,573 application filings for review. The unexamined patent backlog is , leading to more cases being referred to lower, random courts. '''A patent backlog is the number of patent applications still waiting for review or approval.''' 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]. '''The USPTO continues to grant patents without the necessary time or resources to search all relevant references. '''