The Government has launched a new website that is designed to make it easier for inventors and innovative businesses to secure a patent for their ideas.
The Peer to Patent website will allow experts from the scientific and technology communities to review business ideas and to comment on patent applications.
The Government believes that the new system will open up the patent examination process as well as avoiding the granting of overly broad patents.
It will also provide the opportunity for scientific and technical communities to research and discuss a patent application and share their knowledge with the Intellectual Property Office.
The UK pilot follows on from successful Peer to Patent websites that have already been run in the USA and Australia.
Announcing the start up of the new website, the Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox said: “Patent applications granted after using the Peer to Patent website review will be potentially stronger, giving businesses better protection to grow their innovative ideas. This will give the IPO access to a wider body of knowledge when deciding whether a patent should be granted.
“The pilot will give experts the opportunity to comment on patent applications and share their vital expertise before patents are granted. It will also mean that inventions already known in the wider community will be filtered out more readily.”
The website can be found at http://www.ipo.gov.uk/peertopatent.htm
