Patent Reform?
 

I think a good policy for patent reform for _software patents_ would be to just give them a life span of 2-3 years MAX and speed up the process that they are actually awarded to people... like 1 year patent pending, 2 years active patent or something like that, and somehow, you get your approval or declined patent application in 60-90 days.

Maybe also include a period of time where the internet community can review pending patents... say 30 days... where they can issue challenges and help point the understaffed patent reviewers in the right direction when it comes to prior art or prior use of the technologies attempting to be patented.


Anyway... with a 3 year max lifespan on the monopoly of that method or whatever... this should give you, the inventor, long enough time to take it to market and and establish yourself as the leader and originator of the idea.


This would keep patent abusers from filling for things and then sitting on them, doing nothing for 10 years while they sit back and watch others develop ideas around "Their technology" rubbing their hands together happily knowing that at some point before their patent expires they are going to try to get $$ from all of them.

It would basically mean that.... you woudln't patent anything unless you were really about to develop and market that technology.... because in 3 years, it becomes a free for all.