Patently Offensive
Kirt's Cogitations™ #18

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Patently Offensive

At any given time there are as many as 400,000 patents in the U.S. Patent Office queue. Even with 3,400 examiners, the average patent takes 24 months to be issued. Between 2000-2001 applications grew by 12%, so it's not getting any easier. Typical applications are around 40 pages of documentation, and can run to more than 100,000 pages. It currently takes 35 days to get through the pre-examination process and into the dreaded backlog pile, where it will languish for an average of 15 months. 40% of applications are returned for amendment - often just to get a signature at the bottom. Hey, it's a government bureaucracy. Most applicants report that the examiners are very friendly to talk with and are very helpful, so it's not all bad, and you'll think well of them once that patent certificate is hanging on the wall!

Johanson Technology Prototyping Kit - RF Cafe Website

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...