Hal continues:

The Instant Trial Lawyer without a Law Degree with Two Days study Experience:  The skewed values will become even more apparent ten months from now when this 21 year old who has studied for two days will be able to be trial counsel for administrative trials at the new Patent Trial and Appeal Board, whereas a twenty year veteran patent trial lawyer who is not registered is proscribed from doing so absent a pro hac vice admission.

As a litigation patent killer, Patent Hawk makes a living off the mistakes of patent office examination, which is generally pathetic (thanks guys; keep up the lame work; butters my bread). But that is mere topping on the cake of prosecutorial incompetence. Most of the junk patents, with horrific claims, come from "experienced" overpaid lawyers at large firms.

Experience counts, but experience in the head of an nincompoop is no match for talent and intelligence. You don't need to be a lawyer to be a patent prosecutor; just a patent agent. Most lawyer-prosecutors charge way too much, overeducated in irrelevancies to the task at hand.

The best advice for any inventor seeking a patent is find someone who can draft comprehensible claims, and has patent litigation knowledge. A prosecutor that lacks litigation savvy may know how to squeeze a patent out of the PTO, but is without a decent compass in what renders patent claims enforceable; a much higher bar. A patent that can't be enforced is worthless.

A smart first step in choosing a prosecution firm is to look at their web site. Q: How good can a patent application writer be that can't explain what they do and how the process goes, or even take the time to try once to advertise themselves? A: Not very.

Inventors commonly want a local to do their patent work for them. How provincial. Getting a patent isn't like getting something dry cleaned; you don't need personal delivery. Sharp prosecutors are few and far between. Invent locally, patent nationally.

Platinum Patents - one young, talented ex-USPTO examiner patent agent & one crusty uncredentialed geezer (the "sales prevention department"), but sharp as a razor, and buckets of experience where it counts (invention/prosecution/litigation); what more do you need?!