Seven-millionth US patent - a symbol of the need for change

Yesterday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,000,000 to John O’Brien (assigned to DuPont) for POLYSACCHARIDE FIBERS.

It took roughly six years to issue the million patents between US 6,000,000 and US 7,000,000. The time it takes to issue each successive set of one million patents continues to shrink, a sure sign of the increasing importance of US patents and of the ability of the Office to handle an increasing workload.

But, US 7,000,000 is symbolic for other reasons, too. Consider this - the file history shows that it took more than two years for the Office to issue a first action on the merits and nearly five years to issue the patent despite the fact that no continuations or requests for continued examination were filed. This application enjoyed a relatively straightforward prosecution, but it still took nearly five years for the inventor and assignee to secure their rights.

These delays are entirely unacceptable but, unfortunately, not out of the ordinary, especially in the chemical arts. As the Office continues to point out, the backlog of applications is back-breaking and growing. They need help, including more Examiners, more money, and reasonable and effective change (as John Doll recently put it, we can’t simply hire our way out of this problem).

So, as we celebrate the issuance of US 7,000,000, let’s remember all that it symbolizes, including the massive backlog currently sitting at the Office.