The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed new rules that would effectively end the public’s ability to challenge improperly granted patents at the Patent Office itself. We need EFF supporters to file public comments opposing these rules this week. The USPTO is moving quickly, and staying silent will only help those who profit from abusive patents.
Done. One thing that ought to be widely brought up as an argument against, besides the obvious, is that this regulation (as I understand things) is being proposed under the authority given to regulators under the Chevron deference law of I think 1984. In any case, this was thrown out by the supreme court last year, and quite correctly. The case that got it thrown out was about the ATF’s ability to make up whatever gun laws they wanted to. Dems argued that it needed to be preserved because it allows agencies to regulate things, but I asked myself if that was true, and decided that the wild deregulation of the 80s were enabled by it, and that things like net neutrality were able to be killed by appointed bureaucrats because of it. The argument for it is that lawmakers shouldn’t have to be subject experts on everything, but the argument against it is that any law too vague for a legislator to understand is unconstitutionally vague and laws should be required to be written well. Also, it’s the job of congress to make laws, not appointees of whatever President who happens to be sitting in office who’re doing as they’re bid.
At this stage, anything pushing back on executive power is a fine thing indeed.