Article One Researcher Olivia Marsh (livmarsh) Wins $20,000
Posted on Wed, Dec 15, 2010
This week’s Featured Researcher is Olivia Marsh (livmarsh). Olivia is the recent Winner of Study AL 947 for which she was rewarded $20,000! Study AL 947 relates to the communication of selected information. Olivia received a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University. Currently residing in Raleigh, NC, Olivia works as a Patent Agent who focuses on validity and patentability issues. Previously, Olivia worked as a patent examiner with the USPTO for almost three years and also worked in the private sector with a few technology development firms.
AOP: Please explain your expertise which you find most relevant to your work with Article One?
Olivia: My training and work experience from the USPTO has been invaluable as a patent researcher. The patent examiners who trained me emphasized knowing how to read and navigate classification systems of the various patent offices. This skill is crucial to discovering previously unknown prior art. In my work, my clients appreciate my desire to ensure their intellectual property is novel and patentable.
AOP: What do you like best about being an Article One Researcher?
Olivia: I like the challenge some of the studies provide. Typically when I’m conducting patentability searches the prior art date is usually recent. Some of the studies Article One offers are pre-1995, which can be a unique challenge for discovering prior art. So far I have most enjoyed researching for Study AL 947 – The Study I won! The prior art date for this Study was early and the claims were in my technical area of expertise - mobile communications. Japan and Korea typically have the earliest documentation of prior art for mobile communications, but their databases and patents can be a challenge to discover and decipher.
AOP: In which language(s) do you conduct your research?
Olivia: English is my primary language, but I am fluent in patent legal jargon which can be a language unto itself. I make use of the machine translations of Korean and Japanese patent documents to get an idea of the technical disclosure of those documents.
AOP: What was the process that led you to the winning prior art?
Olivia: I did a fair amount of analysis of the claims prior to beginning the search. It became apparent, based on the prior art discovered previously, the current prior art failed to teach a fundamental element of the claim(s). This was the limitation I focused on as the other limitations were already covered by previously discovered prior art. I then mapped out all of the possible US and International classification areas I should search in. I suspected based on the prior art date I would need to concentrate on foreign art and that is what I did.
AOP: What did you do with the reward money?
Olivia: I haven’t decided yet, but I may invest some of it into my company.
AOP: What advice would you give to a new Researcher participating in his/her first Article One Study?
Olivia: Don’t rush and focus on Studies that are in your technical area of expertise. There seems to be two types of strategies in responding to studies: either be first or be the best. The first can win you points, but the later wins studies. I submitted two pieces of art to the study I won - one was rejected as it was already discovered. Overall, the challenges are fun and it’s worth it! Focus on studies in your technical area and you’ll find the reward for the time and investment is awesome.
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