We have written previously (in Patent Spam and Other Scams, and Reminder: Unauthorised Patent Register Scams) about the various ‘unauthorised register’ scams run by unscrupulous operators seeking to rip off fairly substantial sums from International Patent (PCT) applicants in order to record application details in private, and worthless, databases.PCT applicants and agents have informed the International Bureau that some of these requests to pay fees are being sent in envelopes which appear to bear the WIPO/OMPI logo and the address of the organization. Please carefully review all such requests. The services which are being offered in these invitations do not come from WIPO.Since, as a practical matter, these scams appear to be as unstoppable as spam, phishing, and Nigerian money transfer schemes, it seems that all we can do is to join WIPO in continuing to raise and maintain awareness.
If you are an applicant, beware of official-looking letters requesting payment. If you have an agent or attorney handling your applications, you should not receive any official correspondence directly (except, perhaps, the occasional notice from the European Patent Office – but not requesting money).
If you represent applicants, please ensure that your clients are aware of these scams. It may be useful to direct them to the WIPO warning page, which is updated regularly with new examples and information.
Before You Go…
Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful. Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.
But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour. If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research. My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection. But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me. If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.
The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months. No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar. You might even find it to be fun!
There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net. In particular, you can read:
- a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
- instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.
Thank you for considering this request!
Mark Summerfield
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