# Ask Patents: Peer Progressive Agenda At Work

By [Continuations](https://continuations.com) · 2012-09-21

patents, uspto, stack exchange, prior art

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Earlier this week I [blogged](http://continuations.com/post/31859421614/future-perfect-i-am-a-peer-progressive) about [Steven Johnson](http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/)’s wonderful new book [Future Perfect](http://www.amazon.com/Future-Perfect-Case-Progress-Networked/dp/1594488207), which lays out the [Peer Progressive agenda](http://youtu.be/BKHDIXn5ZcE).  I am therefore particularly excited about yesterday’s launch of [AskPatents](http://patents.stackexchange.com/), a collaboration between the [USPTO](http://www.uspto.gov/) and our portfolio company [StackExchange](http://stackexchange.com/).  [Joel Spolsky](http://joel.spolsky.com) has a [great blog post](http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2012/09/askpatents-com-a-stack-exchange-to-prevent-bad-patents/) up on the StackExchange blog explaining the origins of and motivation behind AskPatents.  

The basic idea is to access the broadest network possible to find prior art.  Instead of relying solely on underfunded and overworked examiners, anyone can now contribute prior art.  This was made possible by a provision in the [America Invents Act](http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/issues_patentreformact2011.html), which lets independent third parties contribute prior art.

It is exciting to see this system at work – someone already provided [an interesting link](http://patents.stackexchange.com/a/263) to a highly relevant publication by Opera several days before Apple filed for their [double-tap to zoom patent](http://patents.stackexchange.com/questions/260/prior-art-for-double-tap-to-zoom-in-a-structured-document-web-browser). I hope that AskPatents not only will help prevent more  inane software patents from being granted but also to invalidate some of the existing ones out there.

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*Originally published on [Continuations](https://continuations.com/ask-patents-peer-progressive-agenda-at-work)*