Hacker News Reader

There is a lot of Supreme Court precedent, going back to the 1800s, calling patents a "property right." Generally, administrative agencies (which is what the USPTO is) cannot take away property rights; only Article III courts can do so.

If the Social Security Administration (an executive agency) gives you $1,000 per month, it can probably decide to stop that monthly payment. But to get the money back, it probably has to sue you in an Article III court.

The plaintiffs believed that this power interfered with their right to profit off their products free of "copycats". The Supremes agreed with you; they held that the rights of exclusivity to an invention protected by a patent were rights granted by the government, not inherent rights, so the government was free to revoke them even absent a court challenge.

No. It is like the government grants you fully vested rights in a property -- and then takes them back.

Conventionally, you need a court with an Article III judge for that to ensure due process.