More content is being published exclusively through the Web, which means those seeking to either obtain a patent or attack the validity of a third-party patent need to exercise greater diligence when conducting a patentability or validity search.
“It’s important that the scope of prior art searches, whether used for preparing patent applications or defending infringement accusations, consider Web-based information,” says Mandy B. Willis, an associate at Fay Sharpe LLP.
“Companies need to be more aware of online postings by searching websites when conducting patentability and freedom-to-operate searches,” she says.
Smart Business spoke with Willis about the Web’s impact on prior art and how to apply diligence in this new publishing environment.
How can a solely Web-based reference qualify as a prior art printed publication under the patent laws?
In the past, many companies looked just at patents, patent publications and printed articles when conducting prior art searches. But the court in a recent case, Voter Verified, Inc. vs. Premier Election Solutions, Inc., provided guidance on how to determine whether a solely Web-based reference qualifies as a prior art ‘printed publication.’ The court created a three-part test to make this determination.
What is the test for determining whether an online article qualifies as a printed public document?
The first prong of the three-part test is public awareness. This prong is used to determine if the relevant public is aware of the website which contains the article. And, ‘relevant public’ means persons interested in the technology in question.
The second prong of the test is, having found the website, whether the article can be found by a person exercising reasonable diligence. In one example, this prong can be met if search tools on the website are sufficient to retrieve the article in response to a query using search terms that relate to the subject matter of the article.
And, the third prong is whether the article was accessible to the public before the effective filing date of the patent and/or application in question. This prong is met if the website was undisputedly open to any Internet user by the critical date. A showing of accessibility can be supported if all submissions on the website are treated by the community as public disclosures or if users can freely and easily copy the website content.
To pass the test, all three prongs must be met.
Is evidence of indexing a prerequisite to establishing that an online reference is a printed publication?
The key inquiry regarding whether a solely Web-based reference can be prior art is if the reference is or was sufficiently accessible to the public exercising reasonable diligence. However, it’s not necessary to provide any evidence of how the public located the website or article; the reference just has to have been discovered.
Indexing allows the interested public to locate an article on a website and can be a relevant factor in proving accessibility, but it’s not an absolute prerequisite. Accessibility is based on a host of facts and circumstances surrounding a reference’s disclosure.
Must the disclosure in the online reference be identical to the claims in a patent application or an issued patent to qualify as prior art?
No. Under section 103 of the patent laws, the disclosure in an online reference must only make the method or system of the claim obvious, either alone or when combined with another reference, to one of ordinary skill in the art. It does not have to be identical to the language in a patent application, just similar.
What can a company do to protect its patents from being invalidated or itself from being accused of infringement?
In the event that a patent holder accuses you of infringement, you can try to invalidate that patent with a prior art, which could be a Web-based article. Therefore, document your search strategy and the search terms you use to find the reference to support a showing that the prongs can be met.
If you are building a patent portfolio and/or applying for a patent, expand your patentability search to online publications. If you’re aware of postings that can be cited against your claims during prosecution, you can craft stronger claims earlier in the patent process, which can save you time and money.
Mandy B. Willis is an associate at Fay Sharpe LLP. Reach her at (216) 363-9000 or [email protected].
Insights Legal Affairs is brought to you by Fay Sharpe LLP.
