They should regain their independence and their liability under Title 18 of the United States code for long jail terms for participating in corruption. The Director of the PTO should be selected with the utmost care and held fully accountable for PTO operation. This position should not be a Presidential appointee, and the PTO and its Director should be subject to full oversight by Congress and federal law. No functions of the PTO should be contracted to any commercial or foreign entities. As a quasi-judicial function, it might better fit into the Justice Department or the court system.
Patent filings are the key strategic assets of inventors and their employers.
Their trade secrets have been recognized as property, only to be given up in exchange for a patent. Therefore, as in the past, the PTO must hold all patent filings in strict confidence until such time as a patent is granted. If a patent is not granted, this information must be returned to the inventor. Therefore, the PTO Director should be held fully accountable to Congress for the PTO s key deliverables. The action of these boards must be both prompt and effective.