Shop4Patents

How many times have you seen a patent and asked how did they get a patent for that? I see this all the time working in the computer industry with software patents. There could be prior art for 10 years but it somehow got missed in the review. If worded correctly clicking a link in this very blog might become patented. The patent office in recent years has become overflowing with patent requests which has not allowed them to do the necessary research in patent review letting bad patents in with the truly unique ones. Hopefully that will not be the case anymore.

The USPTO has started a pilot program for peer review of patents. The project is called The Peer to Patent Project and is being sponsored by IBM and hosted by the New York Law School. Peer Review should act as a quality control to the USPTO’s already overworked examiners.

“The Community Patent Project aims to design and pilot an online system for peer review of patents. The Community Patent system will support a network of experts to advise the Patent Office on prior art as well as to assist with patentability determinations. By using social software, such as social reputation, collaborative filtering and information visualization tools, we can apply the “wisdom of the crowd” – or, more accurately the wisdom of the experts – to complex social and scientific problems. This could make it easier to protect the inventor’s investment while safeguarding the marketplace of ideas.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold a briefing on May 12, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the agency’s Madison building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA. If you are interested in the improvement of the patent review process, further information and how to register for the event can be found here.