Evidence of regulatory capture of patent examiners

Re:Evidence of regulatory capture of patent examiners by alex_anglin on Monday May 28, 2018 @09:08PM (#17175717)

On the upside - competitive pay and benefits with industry. Probably a tough sell for many.

On the downside - restrict employment opportunities for X years after being in a specific position.

Clearly both have issues, but regulatory capture is a problem worth solving.

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Re:Evidence of regulatory capture of patent examiners by patentatt on Monday May 28, 2018 @10:22PM (#17176008)

Patent examiners top out at like $140’s pretty much. Nobody that’s GS scale makes over $160. Starting salary at big law firms is $180 + bonus. So you have a fair pint there.

Also, as far as time bars, the PTO does something like this. Former examiners are not allowed to apply for a patent for a term after they leave. Doesn’t really solve the problem, but it’s something.

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Re:Evidence of regulatory capture of patent examiners by pwg on Tuesday May 29, 2018 @06:57AM (#17177982)

The USPTO also bars former examiner's from working as an attorney on cases in the area in which they previously examined for two years after they leave the USPTO. I do not know how carefully this rule is enforced.

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Re:Evidence of regulatory capture of patent examiners by patentatt on Tuesday May 29, 2018 @10:05AM (#17179246)

Good point, I think it’s really on the honor system with the threat of invalidating a patent in some later litigation.

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