Developing and nurturing knowledge flows: a Peer-to-Patent Australia case study

Presentation to Knowledge Transfer and Retention Forum 24 May 2010

Paulette Paterson

My presentation

• The IP system and knowledge flows• The Gov 2.0 agenda and IP• Citizen participation in government• Peer to Patent – “a modest

proposal”

IP system in Australia

Responsible for administering Australia’s intellectual property (IP) rights system, specifically trade marks, inventions (patents), designs and plant breeder’s rights.

Role:– creating a safe and secure environment in which to

make the intellectual investment necessary to innovate and thereby encourages research and development;

– promoting the disclosure of discoveries and follow-on generation of ideas;

– enabling firms to build brand value and business reputation which in turn contributes to improved consumer confidence; and

– providing a legal framework in which to trade ideas.

IP Australia

What is a patent?

A patent is a right granted for any device, substance, method or process which is new, inventive and useful

A standard patent gives long-term protection and control over an invention for up to 20 years.

In return, patent applicants must share their know-how by providing a full description of how their invention works.

This information becomes public and can provide the basis for further research by others.

The Hills Rotary Hoist, launched in 1946. Image courtesy of the Sydney Morning

Herald.

Some Australian inventions

• first full-length feature film (1906)• surf lifesaving reels (1906)• sunshine header harvester (1914)• speedo swimwear (1929)• rotary clothes line (1946)• wine casks (1965)• staysharp knives (1970)• racecam live television broadcast (1979)• wall-mounted Miniboil machines (1981)• dual-flush toilets (1982)• baby safety capsules (1984)• smartmodem (1992)

A prolific inventor

With 1,093 patents to his name, Thomas Edison (1847-1931) remains the most prolific inventor in U.S. history. Among many other inventions, Edison is the father of the light bulb, the phonograph and motion pictures with sound.

Edison's laboratory for experimenting with sound recordings.

Opening up knowledge flows to drive innovation

People need to share what they already know, in order to achieve more and to innovate.

Making connections

Web 2.0 is helping to make those connections

Crowdsourcing – calling in the cavalry

Ordinary people possess extraordinary knowledge they are willing to share when it is easy to do so

And they will contribute if asked

Citizen participation in government

Gov 2.0

The first step towardsa government that can cope with the complexities of the modern world might well beacceptance of the fact that it can’t do it alone.

Citizen expertise and democracy

The information deficit as a democratic deficit

Citizen participation and trust

From CIPAST citizen participation in science and technologyhttp://www.cipast.org/cipast.php?section=212&PHPSESSID=8c15a797855d474b973c9a0f6a19387f

Gov 2.0

• More than half of all Australians now interact with government using web 2.0 technologies

• Increasingly governments broadcast a problem, issue or task on an interactive website that enables the community to collaborate on coming up with the best solution.

From Wikinomics to Wikigovernment

’Together we can accomplish what cannot be done alone’

~ Beth Noveck, US Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open and Transparent Government

Gov 2.0 and IP

Collaborative Governance - Bringing Information to Innovation

Law | Policy | Technology

Began November 2009

In association with QUT Pilot program to test the effectiveness of open, public participation in the patent examination process

Business method/computer software focus

Based on the work of the New York Law School between 2007 and 2009

http://www.peertopatent.org.au

Peer to Patent Australia (P2P)

What is Peer to Patent (P2P)?

• connecting the scientific community to the patent examination process

• an experiment in using the tools of the social web to create models for participatory government.

• the community is invited to augment the work of the official patent examiner by assisting with identifying “prior art”

• Goal: improve the quality of issued patents by giving the patent examiner

• access to better information by means of an open network for community participation

• social software tied directly to the legal and political process

• designed to channel the right information• opportunity to engage directly with the

patent office and be heard• final decision made by IP agency

Rationale

How does it work?

What are the benefits?

Applicants. Applicants receive timely feedback from knowledgeable peers on prior art pertinent to their published application for a patent.

The burden of proof of inventive step. By utilising community expertise, the burden is no longer on the patent examiner or the inventor alone to identify whether or not a patent application is, in fact, novel and non-obvious.

Competitors. Industry peers to see boundaries set by previously published inventions early in the process and potentially avoid conflicts.

What are the benefits?

The IP agency. The Public – Peer review gives more confidence that all prior art relevant to the examination process was considered in the granting of a patent.

The Patent System. Litigation and costs associated with uncertainty over the scope of patent rights may be reduced as interested parties have an opportunity to weigh in at the beginning of the patent review process and weed out prospectively poor quality patents.

P2P should contribute to the harmonisation of the global system by accelerating a more collaborative examination community and improvements in the global search environment.

What’s next?

•Post-Issue Peer-to-Patent (US)

•Open Patent (US)

•Open government initiatives (US)

•Initiative for open government (Australia)

Questions?

For more information visit http://www.peertopatent.com.au/

Or contact:Paulette Paterson Manager, Strategic Planning and Corporate Reporting IP Australia 47 Bowes St Woden ACT 2606 postal address PO Box 200 Woden ACT 2606 phone  +61 2 62832749   0423847089 (mobile) fax +61 2 6283 7999 email paulette.paterson@ipaustralia.gov.au