Press Releases > USPTO Partners with Open Source Community to Expand Patent Examiner Access to Software Code

PRESS RELEASE Contact: Brigid Quinn or Ruth Nyblod 571-272-8400 brigid.quinn@uspto.gov or ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov January 10, 2006 #06-02

USPTO PARTNERS WITH OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY TO EXPAND PATENT EXAMINER ACCESS TO SOFTWARE CODE Alliance will focus on software-related patents The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has created a partnership with the open source community to ensure that patent examiners have access to all available prior art relating to software code during the patent examination process. Last month, USPTO representatives met with members of the open source software community, which provided an opportunity for members to discuss with the USPTO issues related to software patent quality. The meeting focused on getting the best prior art references to the examiner during the initial examination process. The group agreed to improve prior art resources available to the USPTO; to develop a system to alert the public when USPTO publishes certain software-related applications so that interested parties can submit related prior art in accordance with relevant rules and law; and, to explore developing additional criteria for measuring the quality of software patents. “For years now, we have been hearing concerns from the software community about the patent system,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas commented. “It is important that those in the open source community are joining USPTO to provide resources that are key to examining software-related applications.” A follow-up meeting on the new initiatives will be held at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Va., on February 16. The session will be open to the public and devoted to working on details of the three initiatives and the development of additional proposals. Details on the registration process and the agenda will be provided later this month on the USPTO Web site at www.uspto.gov. # # #