Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-05
ALLEGES inefficient WOkR
MR.. CURRIER ARRAIGNS CON
DUCT OF THE PATENT OFFICE.
Declares the Force Is Too Small, Ill
Paid, Changed Too Often and
Is Overworked.

Representative Currier of New Hamp-
shire. chairman of the House committee
on patents. today made sweeping. sizzling
charges against the conduct of affairs at
! the patent office.
Mr.. Currier in a statement to Star
reporter asserted that the patent Office
had become mere post graduate school
where the graduates of technical institu-
| tons remained only long enough to per-
feet their education He saif further
more. that the general work of the patent
| office. which involves patent rights and
property rights worth millions upon mil
lions of dollars, is improperly conducted
| and that patents had been granted i'm
properly.
he attributed the inefficient opera ton
of the patent office to the great pressure
of work and the lack of employees. He
said. in part:
1.-The trouble with the patent office
| arises from the fact that the force which
| is charged with the great duty of passing
upon applications for patents must do in
a few hours what lawyers take two or
three weeks to perform. There is a fear
full press Of work. Worse than all. the
exam ming force is constantly shifting
and changing. because the salaries paid
examiners are SO ridiculously small that
efficient men cannot be retained in the
service AS a natural result of this. the
patent examiners are mostly young men,
graduates of technical institutions, who
work in the patent office merely to round
out their technical education and quail
ications. / have been told that every
lawyer on the staff of the General Elec-
trio Company was at one time in the pat
ent office, and | have also been given to
understand that technical institution
in New England sent thirty of it's grad
yates to the patent office. the young men
declaring that the only reason for taking
the job was to gain the legal and tech
meal training necessary to get a good
start in the practice of patent law.
/. Higher Pay the Remedy.
Higher pay said Mr.. Currier. sis the
only remedy l know of for this constant
shifting and changing in the office which
is so detrimental to the efficiency of the
service. There is no question but that
salaries in the patent office must be made
sufficiently attractive to satisfy desirable
men and keep them in the service.
Patents granted by the United States
have been turned down and rejected by
the German and English governments. /
have been given to understand. and If this
is so. it certainly reflects greatly upon
the patent office and makes it possible
to realize the seriousness of the situation.
1t Is simply that the hurried examination
maze necessary ny tHe CROWDED cOnullloHS
in the patent office failed to disclose that
the article was not patentable, owing to
previous claims while the more eXhaus-
tive investigation made by the two for
eign governments in question soon brought
to light this important fact. This condi-
ton should be remedied at once. as
say, higher pay for the patent office
employees is the only possible remedy"
A bill to increase materially all pay of
the grade of examiners is now pending
before the committee of which Mr.. Cur
rier is chairman.