More on the shameful backlog at the USPTO and why it can’t fix the problem (Congress steals the money): http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/05/06/the-patent-office-dilemma-how-congress-robs-peter-to-pay-paul With an average pendency of almost 3 years, there are over 1.2 million patent applications now pending, and over 700,000 awaiting initial review.