Re: Duty to disclose
The duty of disclosure is a complicated one and by no means universal.
Many patent offices don't require the applicant to do their job for them; some patent offices require disclosure only of documents cited against related applications before other patent offices. A few years ago the USPTO tried to bring in new rules requiring applicants to prepare the equivalent of a full bibliography for every application, but the change was successfully blocked.
The relevant USPTO code is here: https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep-9020-appx-r.html#d0e319407
In the case in the article the patents are being challenged after being issued. It's better to submit observations or relevant prior art during the examination process. At the European Patent Office this can be done anonymously so an inventor could submit whatever she liked even if still ostensibly friendly with the applicant.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
