[Upd-discuss] USPTO TO WORK WITH OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPERS

[Michael Hart]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will participate in a
series of efforts intended to improve the quality of software patents
and reduce the time and money organizations currently spend challenging
and defending patents, particularly for open source applications. As
open source technologies have flourished, high-profile disputes over
the validity of software patents and over so-called prior art have
become a common aspect of intellectual property concerns. Many have
faulted the USPTO for issuing too many patents, saying that many of
them rely on components developed by others. The patent office will
work with open source developers and industry to establish more and
clearer channels of communication about technologies. Such an open
exchange of information, it is hoped, will reduce the number of
unwarranted patents issued while minimizing the efforts spent defending
legitimate patents. In another initiative, the USPTO will develop a
quality index for patents.
New York Times, 10 January 2006 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/technology/10blue.html