Global Effort to Ascertain Validity of Patents

Whether a particular patent is valid has potentially far-reaching implications. Novelty or newness is the basic underpinning of every invention that leads to a patent. After a patent has been granted, parties may seek to defeat its validity in litigation by arguing that the patented subject matter was not novel at the time of invention. There may be a showing that the invention at issue was anticipated by what is referred to as prior art.

Given the vast access to information now provided by the Internet, parties have a much greater ability to search for and potentially find prior art with respect to particular patented inventions. It is in this context that along comes Article One Partners, LLC (Article One). Article One has just launched a "new global community to legitimize the validity of patents." Article One seeks to have its member "Advisors" submit previously difficult to find prior art evidence relating to the validity of "high profile patents." Article One in turn intends to analyze this information to determine whether it can show patents to be legitimate or invalid. If Article One concludes that patents are invalid (the real focus), Advisors can earn up to $50,000, with a total of $1 million being offered potentially at launch. Furthermore, Advisors who actively build the Article One community can earn compensation in Article One's profit sharing plan.

About the Author
Eric Sinrod, a Duane Morris partner in our San Francisco office, covers fast-breaking issues where the law and technology intersect in a weekly column published online at CNET News.com and Findlaw.com. To contact Mr. Sinrod directly, please send an email to ejsinrod@duanemorris.com.