Secret guidelines on how USPTO examiners grant software patents

I am surprised at the remark towards the end how unlawfully accepted patents cannot be retracted/invalidated.

That totally does not make sense to me: how is this possible?

I'm genuinely curious if there is guidance on what decent patents look like. In my old company, I tried to submit multiple patents, but our lawyers never pursued them - I'd like to submit something that might actually be patentable.

>But the Patent Office has been keeping some examination guidance secret instead of disclosing it publicly. This guidance gives examiners a roadmap for ignoring the Supreme Court’s rulings and the Patent Office’s own rules so they can grant invalid patents that stymie innovation, competition, and access to technology.

[...]

>Former President Trump’s chosen Director, Andrei Iancu, made his hostility to the Alice decision apparent. Upon taking office, former Director Iancu rescinded the Patent Office’s then-existing guidance on applying Alice and issued new guidance. At the time, public commenters objected that the new guidance contradicted Supreme Court precedent and threatened innovation, competition, and access to computer-implemented technology. Still, the new guidance went into effect.

My impression was that the US Supreme Court was the highest law in the land.