Crowdsourcing patent application review: leveraging new opportunities to capitalize on innovation?

Ghafele, Roya and Gibert, Benjamin (2011): Crowdsourcing patent application review: leveraging new opportunities to capitalize on innovation? Published in: Intellectual Property Quarterly No. 3 (September 2011): pp. 23-33.

Abstract

This paper evaluates the value proposition of public-private partnerships to patent review by analyzing the potential impact of crowdsourced prior art search on the European patent system. This first requires outlining the current challenges patent offices in Europe face due to their tremendous workload. The worst consequence of this for the innovation system – a drop in granted patent quality - is then described. Low standards in patent quality are believed to be the result of enormous strain on, and unreasonable expectations of, patent offices. Crowdsourcing offers a solution to many of these problems and presents a valuable resource for patent offices if the process is managed efficiently. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Japanese Patent Office’s (JPO) pilot projects in community patent review are presented as opportunities from which Europe can learn. Promoting public-private partnerships in the management of crowdsourced prior art search can be a valuable solution to mitigate current challenges.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: crowdsourcing, patent quality, patent offices, innovation
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O38 - Government Policy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O34 - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

References

Albors, J., J.C. Ramos, and J.L. Hervas. 2008a. New learning network paradigms: Communities of objectives, crowdsourcing, wikis and open source. International Journal of Information Management 28, no. 3 (June): 194-202. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2007.09.006.

Article One Partners. 2010. Connecting intellectual property leaders to the world's largest patent research community.

Brabham, D. 2008. Crowdsourcing as a model for problem solving. Convergence 14, no. 1: 75–90.

Center For Patent Innovations [CPI], New York Law School. 2008. Peer-to-Patent Report June 2008. New York, CPI. Available from: <http://dotank.nyls.edu/communitypatent/> (Accessed 2 October 2010).

Danish Patent and Trademark Office [DKPTO]. 2008. Status and Perspectives 2008. Available from: <www.dkpto.org/media/145598/statusandperspectives2008.pdf> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt [DPMA]. 2009. Jahresbericht 2009. Available from: <http://presse.dpma.de/presseservice/publikationen/jahresberichte/index.html> (Accessed 6 October 2010)

Delfanti, A. 2010. Users and peers: from citizen science to P2P science. Journal of Science Communication 09, no. 1: 1-5.

Drucker, P. F. 1994. Post-capitalist society. Harper Paperbacks.

Howe, J. 2006. The Rise of Crowdsourcing. Wired Magazine 14, no. 6: 1-4.

Jaffe, A. B, and J. Lerner. 2006. Innovation and its Discontents. Capitalism and Society. Princeton University Press.

Japanese Patent Office [JPO]. 2010. Community Pilot Review Report. Available from: <www.peertopatent.org/CPR_Pilot_Report.pdf> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

European Patent Office [EPO]. 2009a. Annual Report 2009. Available from: <www.epo.org/about-us/office/annual-reports/2009.html> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

———. 2009b. Facts and Figures 2009. Available from: <www.epo.org/about-us/publications/.../facts-figures/2009.html> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

———. 2008. Annual Report 2008. Available from: <www.epo.org/about-us/publications/.../annual-reports.html> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

Milone, Cheryl. 2010. Patent Quality: Leveraging Patent Quality Research to Reduce Litigation and Improve Patent Portfolios. White Paper for Article One Partners. April 2010.

NL Patent Office. 2009. NL Patent Office Annual Report 2009. Available from: http://en.octrooicentrum.nl/downloads/501-annual-reports.html> (Accessed 6 October 2010).

Noveck, B. S. 2006. Peer to Patent: Collective Intelligence, Open Review, and Patent Reform. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 20, no. 1: 123–162.

Quah, D. T. 1998. A weightless economy. Unesco Courier. www. unesco. org/courrier/1998.

Surowiecki, J. 2004. The Wisdom of Crowds. 2004. New York: Random House.

Terranova, T. 2004. Network Culture: Politics for the Information Age. London: Pluto.

World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO]. 2009.

World Intellectual Property Indicators: 2009 Edition. Available from: <www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/941/wipo_pub_941.pdf> (Accessed 6 October 2010).