Govenrment and Business Environment Case Study

Reforms in US Patent Law: Business Implications

OR

Abstract:
With the number of patent applications increasing exponentially the USPTO (US Patents and Trademarks Office) found it increasingly difficult to cope with the workload. This resulted in a situation where many patents were awarded to vague ideas without scrupulous review. Also there were many instances where the approved patents stifled further innovation, than encourage it and patents were used more like a weapon against competition. Many were apprehensive about the suitability of the patent system of the industrial age to the information age and suggested revamping not just the patent system, but also the entire system of intellectual property law.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the conditions that led to the troubles for USPTO, the relevance of business method patents and the viability of the Patent Law in protecting innovators in the information age
• To analyse the potential benefits that the reforms could bring to the US economy, which drives a considerable part of worldwide industrial growth.

Keywords : Government and Business Environment Case Study,US patent law, US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO), Federal Trade Commission, Business method patents, Intellectual property, Prior art, Software patents, Patent monopoly, Antitrust and patent law, Competition and monopoly,Business Environment Case Study, Utility patents