Updates

The Prior Art Project has set a goal of a working Alpha by the end of Q1, and our programmers are hard at work. As a sneak preview, we have some screen shots of what we’ve been working on. This is a simple walkthrough of some of the planned features of editing and linking entries. We’ve been planning this with the idea of serving users who may or many not have a heavy technical background, as people from all kinds of fields will become contributors, as with any wiki-type database.

Here is an example of what an individual entry in the Prior Art database might look like. This one is a reference for the computer mouse:

The layout of individual entries is designed to help users find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. Perhaps a search doesn’t yield exactly what you’re looking for right away; tags on what you do find can help you examine related material. But let’s say the entry you find needs a little correction. You can edit entries in the Prior Art database without leaving the page:

If you’d like to link the entry to a related patent, click “Add Urls” and “Choose Patent Url.” This brings up a widget which uses the Google Ajax Search Patent APIs. The user can click “copy” and the patent is linked.

Of course, it’s also important to be able to link to external sites:

And here’s what the updated entry would look like, with these two new links added:

The alpha is on its way, and we’ll be updating soon with information about how to get involved in testing, contributing, and spreading the word!