They are. If they were just rubber stamping, they wouldn't actually review patents.
Given some of the patents that have been discussed in the tech media over the past 5 years I don't think they're doing enough to understand the technology. If they were we wouldn't see tech patents invalidated, we wouldn't have as many patent trolls and we wouldn't have the big tech companies stockpiling patents in a cold war-like effort to avoid costly legal battles over the patents.
The recent case of the so called "podcasting patent" is a good example. If the patent office had realized that "prior art" existed in this case or that the patent was overly broad they never would have issued it. The patent office and its procedures were designed for a era that doesn't exist any more. Real change is needed to adapt this system to the world of software and the IP that organizations are trying to patent these days.
It's called having a moral compass. Some companies would rather do the right and fair thing than to find a loophole, or a sham.
If you think morals have anything to do with the decisions these companies make about whether or not to defend their patents you're deluding yourself. The companies that have been in the press about these cases are all publicly owned, they have a nearly singular goal; to increase shareholder equity. If that means they have to defend their patents then that is what they will do. To think that any company would let their patents be willfully violated for the betterment of all is silly.
I'm not saying I like the way the system is working now, quite the opposite actually. I also don't think the cause is the companies who are playing by the rules and the solution isn't that these same companies need to just start acting in a more "moral" way (whatever that means). The answer is to reform the patent system.
Originally Posted by adriandb
Yep, and it was their "moral compass" that helped them to decide to rip off the iPhone. LOL...
Must be easy being you. Don't think for your self. Hand off that responsibility to others to work out.
You quoted the wrong person there. I never said that.