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IBM, USPTO Trying To Improve Software Patents?
from the maybe,-maybe dept
Recognizing some of the criticism facing the patent system, it looks like the US's largest patenter for thirteen years running, IBM, and the USPTO are trying to work together on a system that improves software patents, without having to reform the entire patent system through laws. The NY Times has more details -- but it's tough to tell from these two articles how helpful this will really be. There are three parts to the plan, and the first two are nice to have, but merely deal with some of the symptoms, not the root causes of bad software patents. The first is that people can sign up for email or RSS alerts on certain types of patents, so they can find out about them quickly. The second is an "open source as prior art" database, that will contain plenty of open source software that could be useful for patent examiners in determining if there's prior art -- though, not necessarily if an idea is "non-obvious" to those skilled in the art. The final piece of the puzzle is the one with the fewest details. It's the Patent Quality Index, which claims to be a quick and dirty algorithmic method of giving your patent application a quality score. The idea is that patent applicants can run their patent through this system before they submit it for real, and can be quickly told that their patent is lame. Of course, that all depends on how the PQI works -- and so far, that's still a big secret. It's also not clear if it's just patent applicants who will use this system, or if patent examiners will also use the PQI to "score" patent applications. Obviously, that might be tempting since patent examiners don't scale, but it probably puts way too much faith in a algorithm. While it's nice (really!) to see at least some attempt at more innovative ways to deal with the patent issue (other than "throw more money at the patent office"), it seems unlikely that this is really going to help all that much. Update: In the comments, someone suggests that the PQI isn't algorithmic, but rather a group of volunteers who rate patent quality. Would be nice if there was something clear to back this up.
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I vote IBM...
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Re: I vote IBM...
WTH???? Does any have any clue what Mr. Strasser just said?
BTW, IBM already provides all of the servers for the USPTO (I should know, a buddy of mine handles the contract between IBM and the PTO). Some people may not realize but the USPTO database is one of the top three largest, if not the largest electronic databases in the world.
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Re: I vote IBM...
WTH???? Does anyone have a clue what Mr. Strasser just said?
BTW, IBM already provides all of the servers for the USPTO (I should know, a buddy of mine handles the contract between IBM and the PTO). Some people may not realize but the USPTO database is one of the top three largest, if not the largest electronic databases in the world.
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Re: I vote IBM...
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Patent Quality Index correction
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Re: I vote IBM...
For the LOVE OF GOD, give it a rest! As I;ve said repeatedly, I was not boasting. I merely proffered it as an explanation of why I do not proofread my posts, thats all.
My comment above had to do with the fact that Mr. Strasser's comment made absolutely positively 100% no sense at all.
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