As a pro se inventor (i.e. an inventor who is handling all the legal stuff to do with the patent office by himself), I get to talk to patent examiners on a regular basis.

They are invariably courteous, and with both a STEM degree and a law qualification, they're among the brighter people I've had the pleasure of working with. And although it's meant to be a "prosecution" process, it's not at all aggressive.

So I can't help wondering how they feel about the fact that 99% of the patents they approve are never used in court, and of the remaining 1%, their expertise and dedication is frequently overruled by judges or (in the USA) the Patent Trial and Appeal Board - neither of which have anywhere near the technical knowledge or the broad picture that the patent examiners have.

If you are a patent examiner - how do you feel about this? Feel free to comment anonymously.

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