Reposted with permission from Hal Wegner, some interesting notes on the differences between the U.S. and Japanese PTOs:

The well-intentioned efforts of a variety of diverse groups have moved the ball in the patent reform arena in ways to seek advantages for groups in one area and compromises in others, all without seeing the reality of the big picture which should include a focus upon quality patents that are granted – including post-grant reviews – versus the current emphasis at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that needs serious course correction. The legislative packages under consideration add extreme burdens without the needed course corrections and, if anything, would further sink the Carlyle complex. Lessons for patent reform can be learned from a comparison of the operations of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the U.S. PTO, as reflected in their recent statistical reports and those of the Trilateral group, attached.

Back End Review Administrative Patent Judges, U.S.: 1 %, Japan 30 %: In a nutshell, Japan places a premium on the back end of the examination process, as manifested by 30 % of its workforce being involved in appeals and post-grant review – versus one (1) % in the United States.

Japan Back End Quality Control versus U.S. Front End Focus: Japan benefits from earlier parallel examinations in the United States and avoids the one-size-fits-all front end focus of the PTO. As a result, the United States has a patent examination corps 320 % the size of Japan.

Japan’s Legally Apt, Bright B.S./M.S. New Recruits v. U.S. Long-time Industrial Engineers/Scientists: The Japanese focus upon legally talented fresh graduates with B.S. and M.S. degrees is in sharp relief to the American focus on gaining industry-experienced workers – often more than ten years out of college – but with a Ph.D. rather than a law degree or any established legal aptitude.

More U.S. Examiners have Recently Quit than the Size of the Entire Japanese Corps: The attrition rate is so high that in the last two to four years the resignation or retirement rate at the U.S. PTO has exceeded the size of the entire Japanese patent examining corps.

Hal's paper is here:
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