Increase in Wikipedia Citations During Examination.

The Patent Librarian has an interesting post this week on the increasing number of Wikipedia citations during patent prosecution, by both applicants and examiners (despite the ban by the USPTO).  Specifically, the Patent Librarian has stated:

Back in September 2006, the USPTO ordered examiners to stop using Wikipedia as a source of information for determining the patentability of inventions. However, examiners and applicants continue to cite it. The number of patents issued in 2008 that cited Wikipedia articles nearly doubled to 477.

 

 

See also our previous post titled Arbitrary and Capricious, where the U.S. Court of Federal Claims discussed the dangers of relying upon Wikipedia as a source of “reliable” information in the legal practice.