U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice

Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by kevin_thibedeau on Monday February 05, 2018 @11:55AM (#16310057)

Because it creates an organization that deviates from its purported mission, abusing the public trust instead of serving a common need.

The self-funded USPTO has a bias toward approving bad patents to generate revenue and consequently enables the predatory behavior of NPEs. It becomes a net detriment to society.

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Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by bduerst on Monday February 05, 2018 @12:22PM (#16310291)

Does USPTO make more money if it approves patents? I thought you paid the submission fee whether it's approved or not.

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Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by MichaelBurge on Monday February 05, 2018 @01:57PM (#16311037)

If it rejected 99.9% of patents, the expected value of the typical application drops to 1/1000 its current value. So fewer people would pay the application fee.

Fewer patent clerks would be needed, so their operating costs would also decrease. But presumably not below 1/1000.

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Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by derekp7 on Monday February 05, 2018 @12:41PM (#16310425)

If it gets a reputation for being stricter on granting patents, a lot of people won't waste their time or money in submissions that are likely to be rejected.

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Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by mrguyorama on Monday February 05, 2018 @12:40PM (#16310413)

I may be mistaken, but I believe patent renewal fees are a thing, and more expensive than the application

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Re:U.S. consumer protection official puts Equifax probe on ice by chris_wot on Monday February 05, 2018 @12:38PM (#16310403)

The USPTO does not primarily deal with law enforcement.

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