[Lilux-info] "Open Call From the Patent Office"

"Open Call From the Patent Office" Washington Post (03/05/07) P. A1; Sipress, Alan The United States Patent Office will soon allow members of the online community to post and evaluate information concerning patent proposals on a new wiki-style Web site. "For the first time in history, it allows the patent-office examiners to open up their cubicles and get access to a whole world of technical experts," said IBM's David J. Kappos. The pilot project will start this Spring and feature a community rating system that prioritizes the most respected comments. During the pilot phase of the project about 250 software design applications will be posted on the Web site since examiners have an especially difficult time finding documentation for them. Any user can post information relating to patent proposals, but a "reputation system" will be put in place to rank submitted materials and measure the expertise of contributors. In order to develop a reliable reputation system, the Patent Office has forged partnerships with several e-commerce specialists. Patent examiners will be able to award "gold stars" to those who provide exceptionally useful information. The information submitted will eventually be voted on by registered users, with the top 10 items being sent along to an examiner who will make the final decision on the patent. "The idea is to make something as important as decision-making about innovation more transparent to the public and more accountable to the public," says new York Law School Professor Beth Noveck. The system is expected to go through some changes, specifically the voting process, which may limit the ability to vote or give more weight to some votes. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401263.html>