Will the new Congress take any action toward the patent system. Probably not high on Congress’s legislative agenda, but, seems like if growing new companies is on the agenda, something ought to be done to speed up the process? Whether you are pro-patent or anti-patent, the current system charges fees that only go partially to the patent office and thereby keep it unable to respond quickly to applications.

ipwatchdog wrote an interesting article outlining what congress ought to do in 2011 ( http://ipwatchdog.com/2011/01/16/patent-legislative-agenda-what-congress-should-do-in-2011/id=14381/ ) Their proposed agenda is probably too much, but doing something to make the process speed up seems like it would help everyone ( except maybe us patent attorneys that charge by the hour )