The stress of overload causes examiners to issue bad patents---destroys the reputation of the patent office.
Michael P. Ellenberger 19, Associate at McNeill Buar, J.D. from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part: Does Longer Patent Pendency Mean More Valuable Patents?”, Nw J. Tech. & Intell Prop, Vol. 16, No. 3
Patents are hardly the only way innovators can protect their investments, but they are one of the most prevalent. As will be explored, patent pendency hurts innovators but may have further ramifications to noninventive society. As patent backlogs continue to linger at major worldwide patent offices, the stress of pending applications may force an examiner’s hand into issuing suboptimal patents, which further reverberates throughout the patent world. As such, pendency can reciprocally harm patent offices in reputation and revenue.