About The Project. About Peer To Patent

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1 Peer-to-Patent is a historic initiative by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that opens the patent examination process to public participation for the first time. Peer-to-Patent is an online system that aims to improve the quality of issued patents by enabling the public to supply the USPTO with information relevant to assessing the claims of pending patent applications. Peer-to-Patent provides an opportunity to open up the closed patent review process to more information and enable better decision making and improve the patent system by avoiding the issuance of overly broad patents. Linux Defenders is working in cooperation with the established Peer-to-Patent program to create a portal for the Linux and open source community to participate in the program and provide parallel initiatives with the same common goal of improving patent quality and enabling freedom of action/freedom to operate. Post-Issue Peer-to-Patent takes a community-based approach to peer review for issued patents. In recent years the USPTO has at times been overwhelmed by the number of patent applications being filed in areas of new technology, such as software and business methods. Lacking access to comprehensive prior art in these subject matter areas, the USPTO had little choice but to grant patents that would otherwise have failed the test of patentability had relevant prior art been before the examiner. The rigor is provided by the community of peer reviewers who elect to participate in the review of issued patents and support the invalidation of poor quality patents and the patent office s goal of improving the quality of future issued patents. Defensive publications, which are endorsed by the USPTO as an IP rights management tool, are documents that provide descriptions and artwork of a product, device or method so that it enters the public domain and becomes prior art upon publication. This powerful preemptive disclosure prevents other parties from obtaining a patent on a product, device or method that is known though not previously patented. It enables the original inventor to ensure access to the invention across the community by preventing others from later making patent claims on it. From linuxdefenders.org 12 February 2011

2 About The Project On July 14, 2005, Beth Noveck, professor of law at New York Law School, published a blog entitled Peer to Patent: A Modest Proposal in which she laid out the concept of engaging citizen experts to assist the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ) in searching prior art references in the patent examination process. It is from this modest beginning that the Peer To Patent project developed. With funding from a wide range of foundations (Omidyar Network and MacArthur Foundation) and corporations (CA, GE, HP, IBM, Intellectual Ventures, Microsoft, Red Hat) New York Law School developed the Peer To Patent project and related website [ Working in cooperation with the USPTO, the project launched its first one-year pilot on June 15, A second one-year pilot commenced July 17, 2008, and the results of those pilots (see, Anniversary Reports) are available on this site. On October 25, 2010, we will commence our third pilot with the USPTO. Peer-to-Patent involves 1) review and discussion of posted patent applications, 2) research to locate prior art references 3) uploading prior art references relevant to the claims, 4) annotating and evaluating submitted prior art, and 5) top ten references, along with commentary, forwarded to the USPTO. The goal of the pilots is to prove that organized public participation can improve the quality of About Peer To Patent Peer To Patent is a historic initiative by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that opens the patent examination process to public participation for the first time. Peer to Patent is an online system that aims to improve the quality of issued patents by enabling the public to supply the USPTO with information relevant to assessing the claims of pending patent applications. This pilot project connects an open network for community input to the legal decision-making process. The community supplies information and research based on its expertise. The patent examiner makes the final determination on the basis of legal standards. This process combines the democracy of open participation with the legitimacy and effectiveness of administrative decision making. Public Collaboration and Patents New York Law School's Center for Patent Innovations is collaborating with other organizations to extend the concept of public collaboration in improving our public policies. Among those with whom we are collaborating are: Peer To Patent Australia Community Patent Review JPO Article One Partners From peertopatent.tumblr.com/abouttheproject 12 February 2011

3 issued patents. Anyone in the public 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 to the technical community. A successful pilot will also make a case for expanding to other subject matter. Here is a more detailed list of ways to participate: - As an Applicant: - As a Peer Reviewer: - As a Law Student Fellow: Peer To Patent is largely a student driven project. While the core student group is part of New York Law School s Center for Patent Innovations, we encourage and invite student participation from other law schools. To date we have enjoyed participant from Albany School of Law, University of California - Berkeley Law, and Duke Law, but we are constantly working on further outreach. Student fellows assist in recruiting peer reviewers, facilitating the review of patent applications, reviewing applications and suggesting prior art, and preparing information disclosure statements for submission to the USPTO. Our student fellows have found that they learn a great deal about the patent process from their involvement in the project. If you are a student or law professor and want to get involved, please contact us at info@peertopatent.org. From peertopatent.tumblr.com/abouttheproject 12 February 2011

4 Welcome to Post Issue Peer to Patent As the name implies, Post-Issue Peer-to-Patent takes the same community-based approach as Peer to Patent, but in this case, for issued patents. During the last decade the USPTO was at times overwhelmed by the number of patent applications being filed in areas of new technology, such as software and business methods. Lacking access to comprehensive prior art in these subject matter areas, the USPTO had little choice but to grant patents that would otherwise have failed the test of patentability had that prior art been before the examiner. For a variety of reasons, both holders of those patents and third-parties may wish to have such patents evaluated against a more rigorous search for prior art. The rigor is provided by the community of peer reviewers who elect to participate in the review. By providing the platform and mechanism for the gathering of prior art, the Center seeks to provide a means of improving knowledge about issued patents. Are such patents valid? Are they overbroad in their claims? Do they relate to subsequently developed technology? With this improved knowledge, industry participants can be more certain as to the metes and bounds of such patents, and such clarity works to provide a more efficient marketplace for innovation. For more information, go to [ cts/post-issue_peer-to-patent] From inuxdefenders.org/projects?tab=2 12 February 2011

5 Welcome to Defensive Publications Defensive publications, which are endorsed by the USPTO as an IP rights management tool, are documents that provide descriptions and artwork of a product, device or method so that it enters the public domain and becomes prior art. This powerful preemptive disclosure prevents other parties from obtaining a patent on the product, device or method. It enables the original inventor to ensure that they have access to their invention by preventing others from later making patent claims on it. It also means that they do not have to shoulder the cost of patent applications. The Defensive Publications program, a component of Linux Defenders, enables nonattorneys to use a set of Web-based forms to generate defensive publications. It relies on substantial participation from the open source community as it relates to disclosures. Defensive publication drafts will be reviewed and edited as needed and at no charge by OIN s attorneys. The completed defensive publication will be added by OIN to the IP.com database, which is in turn used by IP attorneys and the patent and trademark office to search for prior art when examining patent applications. From inuxdefenders.org/projects?tab=2 12 February 2011

6 What is Linux Defenders About? Architected to eliminate poor quality patents and ensure that only high quality patents issue, the Linux Defenders program enables individuals and organizations to efficiently contribute to: 1. Defensive Publications that codify known inventions that have not previously been patented so that they can be brought to the attention of the patent office to ensure that later developed patent applications claiming such inventions do not issue. In general, defensive publications are a vehicle which allows the Linux and broader open source community to create valuable prior art that enables Linux and freedom of action/freedom to operate for those active in utilizing Linux to drive innovation in products, services, and applications; 2. Peer to Patent which solicits prior art contributions from the Linux and broader open source community to ensure patent examiners are aware of prior art relevant to published applications that are currently under review. In this way, the patent office is alerted to relevant prior art and only the most innovative and novel ideas are actually patented. 3. Post-Issue Peer to Patent which solicits prior art contribution from Linux and the broader open source community to permit the invalidation of previously issued patents that were issued in error because of the patent office s lack of awareness of relevant prior art. WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO? We encourage contributions from anyone that is interested in ensuring that innovation is not stifled by poor quality patents and is interested in assisting the patent office in its goal of improving the overall quality of patents. We are trying to produce prior art that invalidates poor quality patents and patent applications and aids in eliminating future patent concerns, using IP rights management tools such as Defensive Publications, Peer-to-Patent, and Peer-to-Issue. The goal is to give the Linux and open source community the leverage to proactively limit the resources that organizations can use against Linux. SPONSORS: PARTNERS: Use of Linux Defenders is free of charge to contributors and the hosting of Defensive From linuxdefenders.org/about 12 February 2011

7 Publications on databases accessible by patent and trademark office examiners around the world is borne by the program s sponsors. Open Invention Network LLC From linuxdefenders.org/about 12 February 2011