[xmodem]

I know this sort of thing is unpopular in the United States, but how about a pay-according-to-your-means model? So individual inventors working for themselves could file quite cheaply, but a publicly held corporation with a >$1b market cap pays a much bigger fee for the same thing.

[bstpierre]

Or perhaps even a pay-based-on-number-of-filings model. First application is $500, with a doubling for each filing, up to a max of $10k. (Or whatever multiplier and ceiling you want to have.) For small filers, the legal fees will dwarf the USPTO fees; for large filers with dedicated legal assets, the USPTO fees are still fairly minor but might start to be large enough to deter some of the frivolous filings.

[pbhjpbhj]

How much does it cost to set up a shell corp, $50?

>For small filers, the legal fees will dwarf the USPTO fees //

You can self file; though it's not generally advisable. $10k isn't even a blip for someone like HP who (at least in the past) markets themselves on the number of patents they have.