The current head of the US Patent Office is an intellectual property lawyer who has worked for large technology firms. He is exactly the wrong guy for the job.
Frivolous patents granted to large technology firms stifle innovation by making the system only serve entities with many lawyers and large budgets.
He claims that recent and intense litigation in the smartphone industry shows that the current patent policy works. No, it doesn't! Litigation takes the place of licensing or developing patents, using real scientists and engineers. Something business won't pay for.
Look-and-feel, business process, genetic sequence, algorithm, and software patents should be made invalid. If it cannot be put in a box and placed on the examiner's desk and turned on while he watches, it cannot be patented