Strategies for Solving the Problems of Backlog and Unreliable Examination Quality in the Global Patent System

Abstract

This paper outlines a proposed approach to analyzing the likely causes-of and potential solutions-to two related problems in the administration of the patent system worldwide: the global backlog (or deadlock) in processing patent applications, currently estimated to be at least several million patents currently in the pipeline; and, inconsistent or unreliable quality in the decision-making of patent offices regarding the granting of patents. It does so by presenting a systematic and quantitative approach to analyzing an array of plausible or salient explanations for the two problems and to analyzing an array of alternative solutions to those same problems. The approach advocated herein additionally presents a dynamic approach to analysis of solutions by taking in to account the interdependencies of the alternative strategies. The practical application of the approach is illustrated by employing it in an expert thought experiment. The experiment demonstrates how adopting a systematic and quantitative analytical approach along the lines followed here may reveal a more powerful set of strategy scenarios (each consisting of an array of dynamically related sub-strategies) than has previously emerged in the literature for addressing the twin problems of backlog and unreliable examination quality in the global patent system.

Keywords: Patents, Global Patent System, Patent Backlog, Patent Quality, Strategic Management

JEL Classification: O34, K40, D73, H77, L30