Comment Re:Does this count as prior art? (Score 5, Insightful) 58
If the article is accurate, then no, this is not about examination.
The point of this initiative is to get information about innovations that exist in the wild and document it ("publish" it for statutory purposes) -- and make it easy for examiners to locate it if they want to.
This is about creating prior art that will serve as a bar under 35 USC 102(a). Examiners may find it, or they may not, but if nothing else, the publication will be sitting there for someone to assert in litigation / reexamination -- and quite possibly able to invalidate a bad patent.
The point of this initiative is to get information about innovations that exist in the wild and document it ("publish" it for statutory purposes) -- and make it easy for examiners to locate it if they want to.
This is about creating prior art that will serve as a bar under 35 USC 102(a). Examiners may find it, or they may not, but if nothing else, the publication will be sitting there for someone to assert in litigation / reexamination -- and quite possibly able to invalidate a bad patent.
