If You Build It, They Will Come: Article One's Patent Research Community
Posted on Wed, Feb 17, 2010
Who would have thought that an online community of patent researchers would even take off? For many people, patents are too dense to understand. They are filled with legal and technical jargon that no layman can probably digest. Yet, the diverse community of Article One Partners has grown tremendously since its launch in November 2008. What motivated all these Researchers to register on Article One?
The possibility of winning a reward seems to be the obvious answer. To date, AOP has awarded more than $300,000 to the winners of nine studies. Each winning Researcher received as much as $50,000 for their submissions. In late January, hundreds of Researchers received emails with the details of their respective shares of the $25,000 bonus AOP paid out to the community. Working with Article One does indeed pay handsomely.
Financial gain, however, is not the only reason why the Researchers signed up on Article One. Of course there are those who simply find the studies interesting or the search thrilling, but quite a number saw something more.
In the survey AOP conducted in late 2009, more than half of the respondents said that being educated about the best research practices is among the top draws of the community. A Researcher even remarked that the opportunity AOP provided has “helped sharpen” his skill sets for his day job.
Many Researchers have also expressed their interest in contributing to patent reform. One said that he realized how potentially costly an invalid patent is to consumers. Another remarked that AOP provides the opportunity to help address this problem and to get paid for doing it.
Article One is revolutionizing the patent space, thanks to the knowledge, expertise, and perseverance of its community. Whatever his motivation was for joining, each Researcher is now contributing to the drive for greater patent quality. Article One has built the platform, and yes, the community has come and delivered.