Patent fraud by Copyright clerk

Say someone comes up with a million, billion, trillion dollar idea and goes to patent it. Now, is it possible, or has it even happened, where the clerk sees how much money can be made, tells the person, sorry, but there’s already an item like that patented, and then later turns around and patents the idea for themselves, thus making all of the money?

Now I know that this kind of fraud has been done before, for example, I heard that the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper went to three auto companies, who told him that they weren’t interested, only to turn around and come out with intermittent blades themselves, and it took a couple of decades or so before they started having to pay up on the lawsuits.

But I want to focus specifically on a patent clerk. Could a clerk defraud someone like that? Or are there laws, for example, that don’t allow a Patent clerk to patent their own ideas, sort of like employees of a radio station, as well as their relatives not being allowed to enter any contest put on by the station that they work for?

As you note, people have been defrauded by private companies all the time. The inventor of a quick release socket wrench system got defrauded by Sears. He sued Sears and got a large award.

Note that the patent clerk would be unprotected by USPO rules and regulations and would be just another private party that could be sued into the ground.

The USPO is regularly dragged into court over patents awarded or refused. But if one of their clerks goes solo, they are not likely to be held legally responsible.

Note that it really has to be a million $-plus idea. Patent fights over smaller stuff are just not worth the legal fees.

The clerk must cite precisely which prior art anticipates precisely which features of the invention. Indeed, should he try to patent the invention himself, another clerk would cite the application he stole right back at him!

(Note that “never been done before” does not necessarily mean “never been patented before”. You cannot have a patent for something which has been done before, regardless of whether or not it was patented when it was first done).

Patent employees are perfectly entitled to apply for patents (assuming, of course, that someone else examines them). There are so many checks and balances in the system that even were a dubious patent to get through to grant, any attempt to enforce it in court would soon reveal its shambolic nature.

Basically, all the decisions a patent examiner (not clerk) makes are public, on the record, and may be appealed to the federal courts. If an examiner tried to pull the kind of scheme the OP described, it would be discovered pretty quickly, unless the applicant wasn’t paying attention.

Is anyone else reminded of this?

<Family Guy>

Lois: A lot of creative people had mindless jobs. Albert Einstein worked in the patent office.

(Scene: Patent Office)
Einstein: What is it you wish to patent Herr Smith?
Smith: I call it Smith’s theory of relativity.
Einstein: (points) Hey, look at that.
Smith: What? (Einstein hits him over the head and runs off with his papers)

</Family Guy>

Hehe, I forgot about that Family Guy epsiode :cool:
Anyway, looks like my question has been answered, thanks.

I worked in the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office). It can’t be done. Patent Examiners and their immediate families cannot make application for a Patent - until 3 years after leaving the Office, IIRC. - Jinx

I thought that there might some sort of rule like that, I mean, it makes sence.
I bet you that in the past an Examiner tried something like that, which led to the rule. Maybe not, but I figured such a rule, or one like it, existed.