on the subject of prior work, and just thinking out loud, but I wonder if USPTO could set up some rules whereby the person asking for a patent has to do some sort of search for prior art, in order to get the patent
and if they don't or do it badly/ not to the rules, then a penalty is applied, financial or immediate ban on patients?
The problem with proving something is an exact copy is just the nature of our field - anything can be argued as a copy or innovation.
Most ideas that get patented are reasonable next steps from an existing idea anybody in the profession with half a brain will take.
There is no requirement that one looks for prior art. 37 CFR 1.56 requires that an applicant disclose pertinent prior art that is already known to the applicant or his lawyer and disclose prior art that the applicant becomes aware of during the application process.
Disclosing prior art, and how your patent builds on and is different from it, is part of the patent application process.
> and if they don't or do it badly/ not to the rules, then a penalty is applied
That penalty is the patent is completely invalidated.