Category Archives: Wikipedia

Wikipedia References in US Patents Increase in 2011

Posted on January 1, 2012 by mjwhitekingston

Wikipedia continues to be a favorite source of prior art references for inventors filing patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The number of issued U.S. patents that cite Wikipedia articles increased by 26.3 percent in 2011, reaching … Continue reading →

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Wikipedia References Increase 81 Percent in 2010

Posted on January 2, 2011 by mjwhitekingston

The number of US patents that cite Wikipedia increased again in 2010. Approximately 1,461 patents issued last year contain one or more references to Wikipedia articles, 81 percent more than in 2009. Although this is a tiny fraction of the … Continue reading →

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Wikipedia Not an Authoritative Source, Judges Tell Govt. Officials

Posted on April 24, 2010 by mjwhitekingston

Several Canadian judges have criticized immigration officials for citing Wikipedia articles in decisions to deport or deny entrance to foreigners. (Judges rap Wiki-evidence… Globe and Mail, Apr. 21) This is the most recent case of government agents using the online … Continue reading →

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Wikipedia Citations in Patents Up 59 Percent

Posted on January 7, 2010 by mjwhitekingston

The number of U.S. patents issued last year that contain one or more references to Wikipedia articles totalled 809, a 59 percent jump from 2008. Several years ago the USPTO banned patent examiners from using Wikipedia as a source of … Continue reading →

Posted in Patent references, Wikipedia | 7 Comments

Wikipedia References Increase

Posted on February 15, 2009 by mjwhitekingston

The Jan. 29 of CNET’s Buzz Report has a funny rant about Apple’s recently issued patent on a multi-touch graphical user interface. (US 7479949) Complaining about the USPTO’s examination practices, reporter Molly Wood cites examples of existing prior art on … Continue reading →

Posted in Patent references, Wikipedia | 11 Comments

Wikipedia References in Issued Patents

Posted on January 1, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

Back in September 2006 the USPTO banned patent examiners from using Wikipedia as a source of prior art information, citing its unreliability and lack of authority. Well, this apparently hasn’t stopped examiners or inventors from citing the popular online encyclopedia … Continue reading →

Posted in in, Prior art, Wikipedia | 3 Comments