USPTO chief blasts smartphone patent war critics: “Get the facts!”

United States Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos has attacked critics of the US patent system during a speech to the Center for American Progress.

The USPTO chief’s comments come amidst growing criticism of the US patent system as a result of ongoing patent battles between Apple and its Android-based competitors, in particular Samsung.

A recent paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis went so far as to argue intellectual property patents should be abolished entirely.

According to ArsTechnica, Kappos ascribes the increase in patent litigation to the rapid rate of technological innovation in the industry.

“The explosion of litigation we are seeing is a reflection of how the patent system wires us for innovation. It’s natural and reasonable that innovators would seek to protect their breakthroughs using the patent system,” Kappos says.

“To those commenting on the smartphone patent war with categorical statements that blame the so-called broken system on bad software patents, what I say is: Get the facts. The facts don’t support your position.”

“Our patent system is the envy of the world… Do we demand today’s innovation [should be carried out] on the cheap via a weaker patent system that excludes subject matter, or do we moderate today’s consumption with a strong patent system so our children enjoy greater innovations?”