Step One In Fixing The U.S. Patent System - AI Searches

Recently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) started using AI tools to help find "prior art" to filed patent applications. Prior art refers to publications (patents, scientific articles, webpages, etc.) that pre-date the filing of a patent application. The idea is to help examiners find the best, most relevant prior art, resulting in (a) faster examination times, (b) better quality examination, and (c) reduced doubt of the validity of an issued patent (i.e., "stronger patents").

In one proposal, AI searching tools would be applied to filed patent applications BEFORE examination begins. A patent applicant would receive the search report after the patent application is filed and be given an opportunity to revise patent claims that were submitted or even withdraw the patent application for a partial refund of patent filing fees. In such a pre-examination system, an automated patent search would certainly help speed up patent examination by giving an initial