Slashdot Mirror
PTO Seeks Public Input on Patent Applications
KingAdrock writes to tell us Sciencemag is reporting that the US Patent and Trademark office (PTO) is floating the idea of an online pilot program to gather public input on patent applications. From the article: "Speaking last week at an open forum, officials said that tapping into the expertise of outside scientists, lawyers, and laypeople would improve the quality of patents -- and might also reduce a backlog that this month topped 1 million applications. "Instead of one examiner, what if you have thousands of examiners reading an application?" says Beth Simone Noveck of New York University Law School, who is an independent advocate of the idea."
Something about barn doors and bolting horses springs to mind...
Code, Hardware, stuff like that.
45% of statistics are made up on the spot.
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
No, you're thinking of the Soviet Russia Patent Office.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
"The patent office is weighing an online pilot project to solicit public input on patent applications. [...] The idea is for volunteers to be alerted about new patent applications--applications become public after 18 months--and invited to submit prior art."
If the idea is already patented... Oh the irony!!!
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."