Peer to Patent

Getting your application into Peer to Patent

On December 1, 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sent out 10,000 notices to parties whose pending patent applications are eligible to participate in Peer to Patent.  Just as a reminder, an application is eligible if it:

• falls into one of the following U.S. classes:  380, 700, 704, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, 711, 712, 713, 715, 715, 717, 718, 719, or 726; and
• it has either not published at the time the USPTO receives the consent form or published no more than 30 days prior to the date the USPTO receives the consent form.

Applicants are advised to submit the consent as early as possible.  Upon the earlier of publication or the timely receipt and acceptance by the USPTO of the consent, the eligible application will enter the Peer to Patent program.

The consent form is issued by the USPTO and can be found at http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/peerpriorartpilot/consent.pdf

Applications that enter the Peer to Patent program, at the conclusion of the four-month peer review period, are advanced to the head of the queue for first office actions.  For example, a participating application publishes, enters the program for four months, and receives a first office action within approximately two-three months following the conclusion of the peer review.  On average participating applications cut a year or more from the time to first office action.

Parties interested in submitting their applications to Peer to Patent can further reduce the time to first office action by requesting early publication of the application.  To obtain early publication, simply state that you wish the specified application to publish early in a signed request and submit it at the same time you submit the above consent form.  Early publication typically occurs within 12-14 weeks of receipt of the request.

If you elected non-publication at the time of filing your patent application because you were not filing foreign counterparts and wished to maintain the confidential nature of your filing, you can reverse that decision and have your application participate in Peer to Patent by filing a request to rescind the previously-filed nonpublication request and including it with your consent form.

If you have further questions, please e-mail us at info@peertopatent.org or contact the USPTO at PeerReviewPilot2007@uspto.gov

USPTO Quality Initiatives

The USPTO announced year-end quality results and published its Performance and Accountability Report.

Director Jon Dudas noted that "The USPTO will work tirelessly to ensure high quality agency actions, but we must make progress to ensure examiners are presented with applications that clearly depict the claimed invention and relevant prior art is presented to the examiner in a timely manner."

"Consistent with Director Dudas' direction, to encourage focused and complete information that allows examiners to make the best decisions when examining applications, the USPTO has initiated a number of improvements to better focus the examination process. These include:

Peer Review - Begun in June 2007 as a joint initiative with the New York Law School's Institute for Information and Policy, peer review is a pilot project that allows technical experts in computer technology, for the first time, the opportunity to submit annotated technical references relevant to the claims of a published patent application before an examiner reviews it. Studies have shown that when patent examiners have the best data in front of them, they make the correct decisions. However, examiners have a limited amount of time to find and properly consider the most relevant information. This is particularly true in the software-related technologies where code is not easily accessible and is often not dated or well documented."

2 New Applications Posted to Peer-to-Patent

A new application from IBM is now available for public review here. The application (Application #11/329773; Publication #20070160202) relates to a new and unique method and system for verifying decryption of an encrypted user data key.  It addresses a need for a secure and reliable method for verifying a correct decryption of an encrypted user data key in view of asymmetric key-based cipher methods.  This is the third application from IBM to be posted on Peer-to-Patent and will be available for public review until Monday, November 5, 2007.

A new patent application from GE is also available for public review here.  This application (Application #11/329801; Publication #20070162860) relates to a remote console enabled to interface with and display screen update data from a plurality of local workstations.  The invention would allow a user to provide support, perform service on and train personnel for the local workstations.  This is the second application from GE to be posted on Peer-to-Patent and will be available for public review until Monday, November 5, 2007.

Other Applications for which the USPTO is requesting your help:

Sun Microsystems: Method and Apparatus for Delivering Device Drivers (Publication #20070162625)

Microsoft: Off-line Economies for Digital Media (Publication #20070136608)

Intel: Stack Tracker (Publication #20070130448)

Intel: Register Tracking for Speculative Prefetching (Publication #20070118696)

IBM: System and Method for Migrating Databases (Publication #20070150488)

IBM: Database Staging Area Read-Through or Forced Flush With Dirty Notification (Publication #20070124317)

Hewlett Packard: User Selectable Management Alert Format (Publication #20070118658)

Red Hat: Cooperative Mechanism for Efficient Application Memory Allocation (Publication #20070118712)

General Electric: Method, Apparatus and Computer Program Product for Providing Status of a Process (Publication #20070135944)

Patent Application From Sun Microsystems Now Available for Review on Peer-to-Patent

A patent application from Sun Microsystems is now available for public review here. The application (Application #11/329656; Publication #20070162625) relates to the delivery of a device driver to an operating system without user intervention. While most computer platform operating systems are configured with device drivers for all devices installed in the computer platform when it was purchased or delivered, if a newer driver becomes available after the platform is delivered, the owner may need to download or install the driver from diskette, across a network, etc. This makes it difficult to execute an old operating system on a new computer platform because the operating system will generally not be configured with drivers for controlling all components of the new platform.

Because there is no readily available method or scheme for automatically updating an old operating system with the drivers needed for a new computer platform (i.e. the driver was not available when the operating system was originally released), this application describes a method and apparatus whereby a device is identified (during the boot phase of an operating system) for which a driver is needed and the driver is then requested from a service processor of the computer platform, retrieved, and delivered to the operating system.

Other Applications Available for Review On Peer-to-Patent:

 

Microsoft: Off-line Economies for Digital Media (Publication #20070136608)

Intel: Stack Tracker (Publication #20070130448)

Intel: Register Tracking for Speculative Prefetching (Publication #20070118696)

IBM: System and Method for Migrating Databases (Publication #20070150488)

IBM: Database Staging Area Read-Through or Forced Flush With Dirty Notification (Publication #20070124317)

Hewlett Packard: User Selectable Management Alert Format (Publication #20070118658)

Red Hat: Cooperative Mechanism for Efficient Application Memory Allocation (Publication #20070118712)

General Electric: Method, Apparatus and Computer Program Product for Providing Status of a Process (Publication #20070135944)

Peer-to-Patent Update

In the first month since the launch of Peer-to-Patent on June 15:

1078 people have signed up to be reviewers.
Reviewers have posted 32 instances of prior art for 7 applications.
There have been 95,448 page views of the website from 15,718 visitors in 100 countries.

There are currently 7 applications available for public review:

Microsoft Application 11/296194: "Off-line Economies for Digital Media"
IBM Application 11/290893: "Database Staging Area Read-Through or Forced Flush with Dirty Notification"
IBM Application 11/304021: "System and Method for Migrating Databases"
Red Hat Application 11/164393: "Cooperative Mechanism for Efficient Application Memory Allocation"
Intel Application 11/286585: "Register Tracking for Speculative Prefetching"
Intel Application 11/291378: "Stack Tracker"
HP Application 11/286554: "User Selectable Management Alert Format"
GE Application 11/301399: "Method, Apparatus, and Computer Program Product for Providing Status of a Process"

We welcome anyone who would like to sign up as either an applicant or reviewer. Prospective applicants must have their patent applications classified in USPTO Technology Center 2100 in order to be eligible and must file an "Applicant's Consent to Third-Party Comments in Published Applications and Consent to Pilot Participation" form (available on the USPTO website at www.uspto.gov/web/patents/peerpriorartpilot/consent.pdf). However, once a patent application is deemed eligible for participation in Peer-to-Patent, the invention will be reviewed out of turn within 1 year.

Signing up to be a reviewer is easy, with new improvements being made to the site's registration page. Those interested in the becoming reviewers can sign up by visiting www.peertopatent.org and filling out the registration form.

Enhancements have also been made to the Peer-to-Patent site to make participation even easier, including support for email and RSS alerts. The new alerts allow subscribers to be notified when a new application of interest has been posted to the site. Participants can also sign up to receive notifications about new postings for each specific application via RSS and email.

There are a number of videos posted to the site (www.peertopatent.org/video) intended to educate reviewers about prior art. These include a video from former USPTO Director Todd Dickinson, a tutorial on how to use Peer-to-Patent, and many, many more.

WANTED! - Energetic Minds to Change the Patent World!

The USPTO wants YOU! Yes you, to become a patent peer reviewer and join the hundreds of participants already involved in submitting prior art for the Peer-to-Patent community patent review pilot.

What is Peer-to-Patent?

Peer-to-Patent is a groundbreaking initiative organized by New York Law School in cooperation with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that "blows the doors" off of the patent examination process, opening it up to public participation for the first time in history.

How do I join?

After registering at www.peertopatent.org and validating your registration via email, YOU will be able to contribute to the review of pending patent applications from big name companies like that of Microsoft, IBM and Intel.  YOU will be able to discuss pending patent applications with other members of the Peer-to-Patent community, YOU can research and submit relevant prior art, YOU can even comment and vote on the prior art submitted by other participants with the top ten most relevant prior art references being forwarded to the USPTO for actual use by the patent examiner in deciding whether the application will be granted a patent.

YOU don't even need to be an "expert" in any particular field; everyone has something that they can contribute.  The Peer-to-Patent project encourages all participants to take advantage of their own strengths while working with the community to research and review patent applications. Join Peer-to-Patent and be a part of something big, an initiative that can make a real difference in the patent world.

To learn more about Peer-to-Patent, please visit http://www.peertopatent.org, http://dotank.nyls.edu/communitypatent or send an email to info@peertopatent.org.

New Peer-to-Patent Video Featuring the Former Director of the USPTO

Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at General Electric, Todd Dickinson, discusses the exciting opportunity presented by the Peer-to-Patent project to help advance the US patent system. The former Director of the USPTO stresses the value of tapping into resources which are accesed every day by the technological public and encourages both participants and patent applicants alike to submit prior art for the applications posted on Peer-to-Patent. Dickinson also explains how, ultimately, finding the most examples of possible prior art for a patent application can be valuable to both the scientific community and the individual applicant.

Watch the video: http://www.peertopatent.org/video?autoplay=todd

Peer-to-Patent is LIVE!

We are proud to announce that the Peer-to-Patent system is now live!

Become a community reviewer and improve the quality of patents at www.peertopatent.org.

• Review and discuss patent applications submitted for open review.
• Research published resources relevant to the patent application's claims.
• Upload and explain prior art for the community.
• Annotate, evaluate, and rank each other's prior art.
• Create the "top ten" list of prior art references forwarded to the USPTO.

Anyone can participate as a reviewer, a patent application facilitator, and by sharing information about the pilot with others. Inventors can submit a qualified patent application for open review.  Public participation is crucial to demonstrating the value of openness and making the case for greater USPTO accountability.

For a summary of the applications posted by GE, HP, Intel, IBM and Red Hat for review click here http://dotank.nyls.edu/communitypatent/applications.html.

Become a part of this historic pilot program. Help the USPTO find the information relevant to assessing the claims of pending patent applications today! Visit http://www.peertopatent.org.

Project organizers and Steering Committee members will present the project and answer questions at the Peer-to-Patent auditorium on New York Law School's Democracy Island, Second Life, on Monday, June 18 at 12 p.m. PST/3 p.m. EST. Attendees can find the event by searching Second Life's directory for Democracy Island, or by following this link: www.tiny.cc/rfqh3. Preview our the auditorium here.

USPTO Releases Notice Setting Forth Rules for Pilot

Today the United States Patent and Trademark Office posted the Official Gazette notice on "Pilot Concerning Public Submission of Peer Reviewed Prior Art."

The OG Notice sets forth the rules for the Peer-to-Patent pilot, including the requirements for participating applicants, third-party submitters and the rules governing the forwarding of prior art by New York Law School to the USPTO.

To participate, applicants must first complete the USPTO consent form, available online.

OG Notice

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/opla/preognotice/peerreviewpilot.pdf

Applicant Consent Form

http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/peerpriorartpilot/consent.pdf

Report on Moving Government Decisionmaking Into the Information Age

The Center for American Progress has published a report entitled Moving Government Decisionmaking Into the Information Age.  The report is also Chapter 15 of Progressive Priorities: An Action Agenda for America (2005).

The essay suggests that our ability to address social problems, such as public health and safety concerns, would be enhanced through better information.  Now new technologies might be deployed to facilitate such information gathering and make sense of that data.  These technologies include not only web-based software but sensor technologies and other mechanisms for obtaining and evaluating data.

“The Center envisions a host of important benefits flowing from this effort that could transform government decisionmaking.  Problems and priorities would be crystallized…When we have a clear picture of our problems, we can set sensible priorities – focused on the greatest threats – and craft targeted policy solutions that make maximum use of available resources” (252). 

Like the Community Patent Review project, the Center’s report urges that government would improve its decisionmaking if it improved its infromation practices by means of new tools.  For example, the report cites the benefits that would be had were census data integrated with public health data. This will not only further the public's right to know but help to promote data-driven decisionmaking and enhanced accountability.

Community Patent is already following the action items proposed by the report, including: "(1) using new technology to address information gaps and enhance data collection; (2) managing and disseminating data to imrpove analysis and empower the public; and (3) using data to enhance government decisionmaking and accountability."

Thank you to Edward "Kaz" Kazenske of the Steering Committee for forwarding this related report.