[visualradio]

> What can the USPTO do with the information, other than just not hand out patents in that area?

They could require the IP holder to declare the price at which they were willing to permanently release the discovery into the public domain in exchange for a one-time payment, and levy an increasing maintenance fee on a % of that price due at the end of each financial quarter.

This may eliminate unnecessary court costs and legal fees and supply chain interruptions resulting from legal disputes, while still ensuring that the original inventors are compensated and that there is an incentive for disclosure.

Suppose a defendant is notified of patent infringement and pending legal action. Instead of hiring a lawyer or halting production they could crowd-source the money to pay the inventor's fee through the patent office. The patent office then forwards the payment to the original inventor, the patent is destroyed, and there is no basis for further legal action.

Large companies may find that it is always cheaper to pay the patent office to permanently destroy each other's patents than it is to go to court, which would also level the playing field for smaller firms and startups as the discoveries would be placed in the public domain.

[kazinator]

Why not just do that for all patents from now on? It seems like a good idea.