'Secret' patent review system raises innovation concerns
Patents have long been a valuable tool for tech companies, providing protection for innovations and extracting royalties. But a new report charges that the US Patent and Trademark Office has a secret program it uses to delay patents it views as controversial or inconvenient.
The Sensitive Application Warning System (SAWS) is the Patent Office's "information gathering system" that triggers additional reviews for applications "that include sensitive subject matter," according to USPTO documentation. But a San Francisco-based law firm has documents it believes show the program can stifle innovation, ultimately hurting consumers, according to a Yahoo Tech report Wednesday.
"If a startup is getting sued by an established player, sometimes their only hope is to get a patent very quickly," said Thomas Franklin, a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, adding that SAWS keeps that from happening. The system favors an entrenched incumbent over an innovator who might have breakthrough technology, he said.
