The launch of Peer to Patent Review at the UKIPO

From the 1 June until 31 December 2011, anyone will have the opportunity to submit comments on patent applications in the pilot field of computer technology that are undergoing examination at the UKIPO using the Peer to Patent Review.

Under the trial scheme, which has been previously implemented in other countries such as the USA and Japan, the UKIPO Examiners will have access to the pool of knowledge held by members of the public. It is hoped that the scheme will assist Examiners, especially in niche technology areas. This will then, hopefully, improve the judgment of Examiners in relation to  assessing inventive step, where it is not always clear what is commonly known amongst people skilled in a particular field.  

Before now, there has been the option to submit third party observations to the UKIPO on a particular application, but these can be lengthy and usually require the help of a Patent Attorney to put together

The new scheme will be web-based to improve access to the system and let anyone who registers to simply add a comment to the application for the Examiner’s review. These comments can be positive or negative, and are intended to help the Examiner gain a greater understanding of the technical field. Most of the comments will be based around finding and reviewing prior art to generate a ‘top 10’ list of documents. The UKIPO stress that this is a part of working together with the community and letting the public participate, with the aim of improving the quality of the patents granted.

Some inventors may be concerned that fewer patents will be granted if the Examiner is made more aware of additional prior art under the scheme. There are also concerns that these comments could unduly influence an Examiner’s opinion, yet can be left by anyone, even people who are not skilled in the art of the application. In addition, consideration of these comments will potentially lengthen the  Examination procedure .

The UKIPO will review the scheme once the trial finishes. In the meantime they are actively seeking views on the merits of the scheme.

For more information please contact us.