Pro: This will surely provide a much-needed revenue boost for the patent office--one that should help it tackle the monumental backlog of applications waiting for examination.

Con: The revenue boost isn't as big as it should be since Congress will still keep control of some of the money. Another consequence, as earlier this month by Ars Technica's Timothy B. Lee, is that it may be tempting for the patent office to be more lenient in its granting of patents so as to increase the number of future applications and--along the way--its own revenues.

7. Challenging Bad Patents

Finally, through a new "post-grant review" process, the new legislation offers a new opportunity to challenge bad patents. That certainly sounds like a good thing; the only trouble is the way it was implemented, as the EFF notes.

Pro: There's no doubt we need better ways to get bad patents invalidated--there are far too many in existence today--and this could help to a limited extent.