This strip is firmly tongue-in-cheek, but it does reflect a growing problem with Patent Examination at the Patent and Trademark Office. Over the last 8 years there’s been a disturbing trend of more and more rejections based on shoddy prior art searches, and subject matter deemed unpatentable based on a mere assertion, rather than coherent reasoning.

The Supreme Court didn’t help when they attempted to clarify the standard for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (KSR v Teleflex). The holdings in KSR are now often used by Examiners as a free pass when formulating obviousness rejections.

The net result is prolonged examination and more Appeals, all of which amount to a de facto tax on inventors and their employers. If you want this country to climb out of recession, the LAST thing you should be doing is throwing up higher hurdles for innovators and creating artificial barriers that prevent their products from entering the marketplace.

Sometimes I do a strip with my kids specifically in mind. This one, for example, I did because I know it will make my son cackle.

Because I am a parent, I feel compelled to point out that you should NEVER, EVER, EVER point a gun of any kind at someone’s face, even a NERF gun, as eye damage can be forever. Which is to say, Do Not Try This At Home, unless you are a comic character.

And this brings the latest storyline to its conclusion. I really enjoyed working on this one, and I hope some of you liked it, too.