Crowdsourcing Initiative with Stack Exchange Enables Experts to Introduce Prior Art and Improve Quality of Examination Process
September 20, 2012
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) encourages
subject-matter experts to take advantage of a new rule implemented under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) that—for
the first time in the history of U.S. patent law—allows third parties to submit relevant materials to patent examiners in any given
examination. Submission of proposed prior art helps examiners determine whether the innovation in the application is patentable.
The new provision, 35 U.S.C. 122(e), was implemented by the USPTO on Sunday, Sept. 16, and applies to any pending application.
Today, efforts are already underway in the private sector to crowdsource the identification of prior art. One such initiative, utilizing
input from the USPTO, is a newly launched social network known as Ask Patents by Stack Exchange, in which subject-matter
experts volunteer to suggest prior art for given applications, as well as to offer their input on the proposed value of those suggestions
from others.
“By introducing third party input into the examination process for the first time since the inception of our nation’s intellectual property
system, we’re able to expand the scope of access to prior art in key areas like software patents. This will improve the examination
process and advance the Administration’s ongoing commitment to transparency and open government,” said Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “We encourage our nation’s innovators to follow Stack
Exchange’s example and assist us as we improve the examination process and resulting patent quality that will drive our economy
and create jobs and exports.”
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