The job of the patent office is impossible in the field of software patents.
It is not realistic to expect anyone to judge novelty and non-obviousness in a field this wide and active. Imagine trying to evaluate mechanical engineering patent applications if millions of people carried machine shops around in their backpacks.
The only solution is to end software patents. Obama could do this today by directing the patent office to respect the Supreme Court's Flook decision, which they reiterated as good precedent in Diehr and in Bilski.
The non-obviousness part absolutely requires more domain expertise than I expect a lot of patent clerks bring, but checking for prior art seems like something that could be found via search or crowdsourcing.
Imagine if there were a public review step to granting patents, where the broader community could provide examples of prior art and debate the non-obviousness of it.
It is not realistic to expect anyone to judge novelty and non-obviousness in a field this wide and active. Imagine trying to evaluate mechanical engineering patent applications if millions of people carried machine shops around in their backpacks.
The only solution is to end software patents. Obama could do this today by directing the patent office to respect the Supreme Court's Flook decision, which they reiterated as good precedent in Diehr and in Bilski.