What's stopping anyone from crowd sourcing a database of prior art for existing patents that would invalidate them if it came to it?
A valid defense against patent infringement is to show that the patent shouldn't have been issued in the first place, right? So a database of Ready Made Legal Defense sounds good.
Am I missing something?
For instance at the minimum you need to bring in an expert witness to explain the prior art. Then you have to contend with the fact that they will bring in their own expert witness to explain how your example is bogus and you both get to cross-examine. etc. etc.
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/stats/Reexamination_Information...
Many times.
patentbusters - ditto
Peer to patent - more recent
Patexia - still exists
article one partners - which still exists and pays
I don't feel like trying to hunt down the rest, but there are/have been at least 10 or so crowdsourcing attempts, some serious, some not so serious.
Further the patent climate has become more hostile towards bad patents in recent years, more so than at in point in modern history, this will also enable more possibility for success
The main serious issues are still the same, in fact:
1. If you submit prior art pre-grant, that's basically that. You don't get to argue about it, only the examiner does. If the patent issues, you've now lost a possibly valuable reference if the examiner didn't use it well enough.
2. If you challenge in any of the post-grant proceedings, you'll be estopped from suing on anything you raised or could have raised.