Solves and avoids politics – another aff author.
Hon. Paul R. Michel & Matthew J. Dowd, 2021 - Matthew J. Dowd is a partner and founder of Dowd Scheffel, PLLC. He is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School and of the College of William and Mary. He is a former clerk for Chief Judge Paul R. Michel (ret.) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “FROM A STRONG PROPERTY RIGHT TO A FICKLE GOVERNMENT FRANCHISE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE U.S. PATENT SYSTEM IN 15 YEARS,” 69 Drake L. Rev. 1)
The current 15-year trend of destabilizing US. patent law has significantly contributed to the decrease in innovation certainty. The case law on patent eligibility, as detailed above, is likely the largest contributor to the patent uncertainty, especially for the high-tech computer sector and the medical diagnostics fields. The lingering effects of eBay on injunctive relief also contribute significantly to innovation uncertainty.245 Plus, there is the continuing drumbeat of those who rail against reliable patent rights. And while the PTO is making improvements in how the AIA is implemented by the agency, those constant modifications to the AIA process, in a way, only highlight the fact that patent adjudication is more and more in the hands of the political branch and the large body of administrative patent judges. Ultimately, patent policy must be improved. Ideally, it would be done without the need for additional regulation and new legislation, as any changes to regulation and legislation would most likely create further problems to be resolved by the interested participants and the courts. Ideally, the courts, including the Supreme Court would right the jurisprudential ship in accordance with our above critique of existing precedent. Unfortunately, after almost 15 years, that outcome seems unlikely, and the fate of improvements in the nation's patent policy is increasingly resting with Congress and the PTO.