PATENT DOOM IS AT HAND!!!

Ok, that may be a bit strong, but there’s some serious cause for concern, at least for patents issued in the U.S. since 2000. As pointed out in this NY Times piece, a recent paper by law professor Jim Duffy reveals some serious problems with how patent judges have been appointed for the last 8 years. And those problems may lead to the automatic overturning of all such patents on procedural and constitutional grounds.

It’s likely that the Justice Department and Congress won’t let it go down like that. There are billions and billions of dollars tied to those patents, and business is not likely to lay down and let that evaporate. The lobbyists are gonna get fat on this one, folks. Most likely there will be legislation that will attempt to fix this, but that’s really just a patch and I would bet that someone will challenge whatever they come up with. Lawyers are also gonna get fat, baby!

Sigh.

via Boingboing