Patents are not given as prizes for the act of invention -- they are given for prizes for the act of sharing your invention with the rest of the world.
Also, so long as you can prove prior art, the patent is worthless.
Also, so long as you can prove prior art, the patent is worthless.
Third parties can also file ex parte or inter partes reexamination request, through which the third party can ask the USPTO to reexamine the patent to verify the patentability of the claimed subject matter. The fee for requesting an ex parte proceeding is $2520, and after filing the request, the third party no longer actively participates in the proceedings. Third parties filing an inter partes request, after paying the $8800 fee, may continue to participate in the proceedings.
How likely are they to succeed in invalidating an issued patent?
If done poorly, couldn't they have the potential to actually reinforce a lousy patent?
Is this "cheap" course of action actually available if you're already being sued over some bogus patent you didn't know existed (or didn't choose to pay for the reexamination) in advance?