The USPTO started an experimental program last week: community patent review. Anybody can participate in the process by signing up on the Peer-to-Patent web site at http://www.peertopatent.org/. From the project's web site:
Peer-to-Patent opens the patent examination process to public participation for the first time. Become part of this historic pilot program. Help the USPTO find the information relevant to assessing the claims of pending patent applications. Become a community reviewer and improve the quality of patents.
You can read more about the project, including all the press coverage it's received, on the Peer-to-Patent blog.
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A free-access site launched last September (www.wikipatents.com) has also made it possible for the general public to help strengthen the US patent system. It allows users (now over 30,000 strong) to review issued patents and pending patent applications and to make valuable comments concerning the validity and scope of inventors' claims. Users can also add prior art references that patent examiners at the USPTO may have overlooked. The goal is to clarify who owns what in the world of intellectual property, which will hopefully curb the onslaught of patent infringement lawsuits we are now seeing, while still allowing inventors to advance science and technology for the good of mankind. The site can be accessed at www.wikipatents.com.
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