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Gotta suspect that would bring the US Government to the patent clerk's defense and end up being exactly what you don't want to have happen (pissing of the US Govt for no good reason, as they can be incredibly vindictive).

Further likelihood is that a judge would toss that lawsuit almost immediately.

>>... sue the patent clerk?

No, not really. The patent clerk made a mistake in approving the patent, buy they didn't intentionally grant a bad patent to cause trouble or make money. Its really the patent trolls that are at fault for weaponizing the patent clerk's mistake.

"I was just negligent, I didn't do it for personal gain" isn't enough to absolve you of responsibility in a civil suit. It's a shame that there's no accountability on the government's side when they screw up and cause harm, especially on this scale.

Wouldn't you have to prove that the patent clerk colluded with the applicant?

I don't think you would appreciate being sued for making a mistake at your job, would you? ;)