Patent examination process trials Web 2.0

Australia's patent examination process is set to be revamped following the announcement of a new trial which uses Web 2.0 technology to improve the quality of patents issued.

IP Australia, in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have called for qualified people from industry, government and academia to volunteer and take part in the Peer-to-Patent (P2P) initiative.

The trial will attempt to draw on the expertise of members of the public, and pool their knowledge via an interactive website to support IP Australia's patent examiners.

Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry, Richard Marles, said in a statement, the initiative will result in stronger patent rights for innovators.

"This 12 month P2P trial shows how receptive the Australian Government is to innovation and extracting the benefits of Web 2.0," he said.

"It makes good sense to use technology to add a layer of checks and balances in our intellectual property system so it can meet the challenges of the future," he said. "P2P will be trialled in business methods and related applications."

This week, the Government 2.0 Taskforce released a draft report into its use of Web 2.0 technologies. It said Federal Government agencies "must do better" to achieve the Government 2.0 goals and that agencies have not pursued "Government 2.0 in a co-ordinated way that reflects a whole of government position".