By Christopher P. Singer --
In a July 16, 2008 press release, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced it will extend the duration, increase the maximum number of applications, and expand the scope of applications eligible to participate in its Peer Review Pilot program. The extension and expansion became effective on July 16, 2008.
The Peer Review Pilot program is intended to encourage the public to review published patent applications and submit technical references and comments on what participants believe is the best prior art to consider during the examination of those applications. Since its inception in June 2007, the pilot has been limited to patent applications in the computer-related arts (Technology Center 2100). As of July 16th, the scope of the program is expanded to include applications in the automated business data processing technologies class 705 (business methods). Those having technical expertise in computer and business methods-related arts and who register with peertopatent.org at their website will be eligible to review and submit information for up to 400 published patent applications. The Peer-to-Patent Project is organized by the New York Law School's Institute for Information Law and Policy.
The pilot program is extended for an additional 12 months and will end on June 15, 2009. According to the USPTO press release, companies that have participated in the Peer Review Pilot include IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Intel, GE, Red Hat, Cisco, and Yahoo!, among others.
More information about this program, including the Official Gazette notice, can be found here.
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