Re: privatize examination, make bad patenters pay

[PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de>]

> The problem is not privatization.   The problem is patent offices not
> getting enough money in patent fees to do the job.  Letting private
> companies do the same work for the same fees will lead to little
> improvement.

They are not getting enough money, because or cross-subsidies that
are built into the patent office system.

The money isn't being earned at the place that causes the costs.  In the
privatized system where the bad patenters pay, the fees can be higher.
High fees are even desirable, when the polluters pay them.

Large bureaucracies, also those of State companies, often perform very well,
but planned economy is not as good as market economy at allocating the
resources correctly.  Thus, I'd expect the patent office to be one of the
strongest competitors, along with a few companies like Derwent, on the future
free market of patent examination services.

--
 Hartmut Pilch                            http://a2e.de/phm
 Vice president of the FFII               http://a2e.de/ffii
 Protecting the Knowledge Economy from Legal Over-Regulation