Here is a letter that was faxed to the Commissioner for Patents. Let's hope the USPTO acts on the suggestion.
Dear Commissioner,
In the information age, terminology evolves rapidly and new terms are introduced that displace even recent terms for identical processes and disciplines.
One example is the term "data supply chain" for distributed ledger processes which was introduced in 2006, but the technology to implement some of the components and features of a data supply chain were not yet developed, and the term itself did not gain traction. By the time the technology had evolved, the term in use became "block chain" which has since evolved into "blockchain." Even "distributed ledger" is a new term introduced after 2006. This means that an examiner searching through the patent database will not find "distributed ledger" or "blockchain" in older patents that relate to the data supply chain and they will therefore not be considered as prior art.
A simple fix for this issue is to add a feature to the search algorithm used by examiners that can account for terminology changes by accepting substituted terms. The onus can still rest with the inventor to identify and notify the USPTO of a terminology shift they are aware of. The USPTO can easily audit the suggested terms and refuse the spurious ones.
In the meantime, I respectfully request that training of examiners in Art Units related to 705 include the term "data supply chain" whenever they do a search for terms that include "distributed ledger" "block chain" and "blockchain."
Your truly,
Stanley Benjamin Smith Customer # 101236
