Peer to Patent

USPTO Seeks Feedback on Patent Quality Initiatives

In a Federal Register notice published on December 9, 2009, the USPTO is seeking feedback on its patent quality initiatives and seeking suggestions on new activities that may improve patent quality.  Specifically, the USPTO wishes to focus on improving the process for obtaining the best prior art, preparation of the initial application, and examination and prosecution of the application.  The USPTO is focused on both methods for improving patent quality and metrics on how to measure that improvement within the context of the existing statutory and regulatory scheme.  One of the existing pilot programs on which the USPTO is seeking feedback in this context is Peer-to-Patent.  If you have participated in Peer-to-Patent as an applicant, patent attorney/agent, or peer reviewer, this is the ideal time in which to share your views of the program.  Please be constructive and specific in your praise or criticism of the program (simply saying "It's great" or "It doesn't work" with no further commentary is not terribly useful).  Comments should be provided electronically and should be sent to patent_quality_comments@uspto.gov.  Comments should include the following information: (1) The name and affiliation of the individual responding; and (2) an indication of whether comments offered represent views of the respondent’s organization or are the respondent’s personal views.  Please note that your comments will be a part of the public record, so you should not include any personal contact information in the comments that you do not wish shared with the public.

Peer-to-Patent Australia Launches

Peer-to-Patent Australia, a project based on the successful Peer-to-Patent project run out of the New York Law School (NYLS) in the United States, launches December 9.  The project, run by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in cooperation with IP Australia, is the result of the collaborative efforts between QUT and NYLS.

Designed to improve patent examination and the quality of patents, Peer-to-Patent Australia uses Web 2.0 technology to allow experts within the community to review participating patent applications and bring relevant prior art to the attention of IP Australia’s patent examiners.

According to Professor Brian Fitzgerald, from QUT’s Faculty of Law, the project aims to assist patent examiners by identifying prior art they might not otherwise have discovered or had access to.  “Peer-to-Patent Australia will initially run as a six month trial which will focus on the rapidly advancing technology areas of business methods and computer software,” Professor Fitzgerald said.

Philip Noonan, director-general of IP Australia in supporting Peer-to-Patent Australia, stated, “This initiative is designed to improve the robustness of the patents we grant by creating a community of reviewers who can pool their knowledge and locate potential prior art, particularly in technologies which are advancing rapidly.

Professor Fitzgerald invites all interested parties to get involved as peer reviewers.  “The success of the project requires the participation of people from industry, government, academia and the broader community – many of whom will be exposed to new technologies on a daily basis."