The Government Accountability Office has called on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to articulate a comprehensive definition for patent quality, address the clarity of patent applications and reassess time allotted for application examinations.

GAO said in a report published Wednesday district court filings of patent infringement lawsuits increased to more than 5,000 in 2015 from approximately 2,000 in 2007 while the defendants named in the lawsuits reached 8,000 from 5,000 in the same period.

The government watchdog added most suits involve software, computer and communications technology-related patents and that stakeholders claimed these patents can be “unclear and overly broad” due to low patent quality.

Auditors estimate 70 percent of patent examiners that GAO interviewed say the time allotted to complete application examinations do not meet workload needs.

The report further stated “nearly 90 percent of examiners always or often encountered broadly worded patent applications, and nearly two-thirds of examiners said that this made it difficult to complete a thorough examination.”

GAO recommended for USPTO to provide a consistent definition of patent quality in agency documents and guidance; assess the impact of examiner incentives on patent quality and consider the use of additional application tools such as a glossary of terms.

Rick Burt, formerly chief safety officer within NASA’s safety and mission assurance directorate, has been named head of that directorate at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Burt succeeds Steve Cash, who retired after 34 years of service for NASA, and will be responsible for safety, reliability and quality engineering and assurance operations at Marshall, the space agency said Thursday.

“Rick’s experience will help us ensure that safety remains paramount as we build and fly the spacecraft that will take human explorers on missions deeper into space than ever before, including on our journey to Mars,” said Todd May, Marshall director.

Burt is a member of the Senior Executive Service and has served as manager of the Marshall engineering directorate’s test laboratory and manager of the Ares 1 First Stage program.

The 26-year NASA veteran began his career at the space agency in 1990 as an enhancement manager for the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project, for which he has taken roles of increasing responsibility until he was named chief engineer of the project in 2002.

He has worked on the Space Shuttle Program at NASA and the nuclear power program of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

NASA has applied new software on the Curiosity Mars rover to give the robotic mission an autonomous targeting feature.

The agency said Thursday Curiosity uses the Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science software from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to choose targets for the laser and telescopic camera components of the rover’s Chemistry and Camera instrument.

Tara Estlin, AEGIS development head at JPL, said the autonomy aids the team’s operations when communication issues lead to information sharing delays between Earth and Mars.

Without automation, Curiosity has to stay in place while ground operators work on laser pointing parameters to help the rover hit small targets.

Curiosity’s ChemCam works to detect the color spectrum of plasmas generated when laser zaps a target and scientists use this information to determine the chemical compositions of targets, NASA said.

AEGIS is designed to analyze images based on scientists’ criteria and aid laser-pointing at targets that are pre-selected by scientists, the space agency noted.

Curiosity investigates geological layers on lower Mount Sharp as part of its mission to analyze evidence on how the surrounding environment changed from conditions that can accommodate microbial life to dry, inhospitable conditions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Deputy Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker to the chief accountant role held by James Schnurr on an interim basis as Schnurr recovers from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident.

The SEC said Thursday Bricker will serve as the agency’s principal accounting and auditing adviser and also help oversee the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Bricker will also consult with registrants, auditors and other industry representatives.

“Wes’ expert knowledge, leadership and analytic skills and Jim’s expertise and wealth of experience will continue to provide critical service to investors, companies and the Commission,” said Mary Jo White, SEC chair.

Bricker was appointed deputy chief accountant in 2015 with responsibility for audit and accounting advice to the agency and he also worked with private sector organizations such as FASB.