The report said USPTO faces three long-standing challenges
that could undermine its efforts, namely, “the lack of an
effective strategy to communicate and collaborate with
examiners, outdated assumptions in production quotas that
it uses to reward examiners, and the lack of required
ongoing technical training for examiners.”
According to patent examiners, the lack of a collaborative
work environment “has lowered morale and created an
atmosphere of distrust,” with management, said GAO.
It also said the agency has been more successful increasing
patent processing through workforce and process improvements,
than it has through initiatives aimed at decreasing patent
pendency and improving electronic processing.
The agency cited a lack of funds as a major reason for the
discrepancy, according to GAO.
