[jcranmer]

> but I wonder if USPTO could set up some rules whereby the person asking for a patent has to do some sort of search for prior art, in order to get the patent

Disclosing prior art, and how your patent builds on and is different from it, is part of the patent application process.

> and if they don't or do it badly/ not to the rules, then a penalty is applied

That penalty is the patent is completely invalidated.

[jandrese]

In theory, but in practice getting a patent invalided is a fraught and unreliable process. The courts have been generally deferential to the the USPTO decision, which may be a problem if some examiners have allowed patents to go through on the assumption that the courts can fix it later if they get it wrong.