This post contains refs to answers to the question, "What is published?" for patent (prior art) reasons. You may find it also bears on "Who is a publisher?" (with accompanying questions about their 'privledges' if any). (FYI; Forwarded from a private list.)

any more word on what it takes to be considered "published"?

First, I found a convincing legal analysis article. Reading it, it looks like you can just start a website called something like _Journal of Cool Stuff We Noticed This Week While Getting Our Work Done_, using plenty of relevant meta tags and so on for each article you publish. From http://www2.ari.net/foley/epub.html ... ---- Subsequently, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit verified that public accessibility is "the touchstone in determining whether a reference constitutes a 'printed publication'" (In re Hall, 228 USPQ 453, 455 [Fed. Cir. 1986]). Accordingly, the current test for determining whether a disclosure is a printed publication focuses on the accessibility of the information rather than on the form of the alleged prior art. Therefore, the fact that a reference is "printed" electronically, rather than on paper, is relevant to the printed publication determination only to the extent that publication in an electronic form may affect public availability. Internet publications are particularly amenable to the current printed publication test. Any information posted on Internet becomes accessible to interested parties throughout the world. Moreover, servers that store the posted information also can provide the date that the information became accessible. ----- ------- Next, I found something both recent and quasi-official! From a WIPO (international law) report in November 2000 summarizing U.S. law on the issue. Most interestingly, the report explains that official U.S. searches for prior art DO include scouring the web in a couple defined ways: ----- B. United States of America 21. 35 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 102(a) and (b) provides: "§ 102 Conditions for patentability; novelty and loss of right to patents A person shall be entitled to a patent unless -- (a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for patent, or (b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States, or ..." 22. The law does not contain any special provision concerning disclosure on the Internet and its prior art effect. However, the "Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)," issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), provides guidelines with respect to the status of electronic publications as prior art and Internet searching. In addition, the USPTO has published an "Internet Usage Policy"7 in order to provide guidance to its employees regarding the use of the Internet for official USPTO business. The "Policy" covers the usage of the Internet to search for information concerning patent applications. (a) "Printed publication" 23. 35 U.S.C. Section 102(a) and (b) states that a "printed publication" constitutes prior art. In a general sense, a reference is proven to be a "printed publication" upon a satisfactory showing that such document has been disseminated or otherwise made available to the extent that persons interested and ordinarily skilled in the subject matter or art, exercising reasonable diligence, can locate it.8 24. MPEP §2128 confirms that an electronic publication, including an online database or Internet publication, is considered to be a "printed publication" within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 102(a) and (b), provided the publication was accessible to persons concerned with the art to which the document relates. Indeed, in In re Wyer, the court stated: "Accordingly, whether information is printed, handwritten, or on microfilm or a magnetic disc or tape, etc., the one who wishes to characterize the information, in whatever form it may be, as a `printed publication' *** should produce sufficient proof of its dissemination or that it has otherwise been available and accessible to persons concerned with the art to which the document relates and thus most likely to avail themselves of its contents" (citation omitted).9 25. As regards the level of public accessibility required, the court ruled that a single copy of a doctoral thesis indexed and shelved in a library is sufficiently accessible to the public to constitute prior art as a "printed publication."10 Even if access to the library is restricted, a reference will constitute a "printed publication" as long as a presumption is raised that the portion of the public concerned with the art would know of the invention.11 However, in In re Cronyn, where doctoral theses were shelved and indexed by index cards filed alphabetically by student name and kept in a library and where the index cards only listed the student names and titles of the theses, two of three judges held that the students' theses were not accessible to the public, since they could only be found if the researcher's name, which bears no relationship to the subject of the thesis, was known.12 26. However, if documents, intended to remain confidential, are distributed internally within an organization, they are not "printed publications" no matter how many copies are distributed.13 (b) Date of availability 27. According to MPEP §2128, prior art disclosures on the Internet or an online database are considered to be publicly available as of the date the item was publicly posted. If the publication does not include a publication date (or retrieval date), it cannot be relied upon as prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) or (b), although it may be relied upon to provide evidence regarding the state of the art. 28. As a general rule, in order to establish the date on which a certain publication became accessible to the public, evidence showing routine business practices can be relied upon to prove accessibility. Specific evidence showing a particular date of cataloging and shelving of the publication is not always necessary.14 (c) Citation 29. According to Article 10 of the "Internet Usage Policy," all Patent Organization users of the Internet for patent application searches shall document their search strategies in accordance with the practices and procedures established in MPEP §719.05 subsection I.(F). The MPEP sets up detailed rules for recordation of the field of search and search results by the examiners. Office copies of an electronic document must be retained if the same documents may not be available for retrieval in the future.15 The MPEP stipulates that this is especially important for sources such as the Internet and online databases. 30. As regards the format of the citation of an electronic document that can be retrieved from an online source or sources found on electronic storage media, the USPTO follows the WIPO Standard ST.14 (Recommendation for the Inclusion of References Cited in Patent Documents).16 (d) Search via the Internet and confidentiality 31. Article 9 of the "Internet Usage Policy" states that, when the Internet is used to search, browse, or retrieve information relating to a patent application, other than a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, Patent Organization users MUST restrict search queries to the general state of the art unless the Office has established a secure link over the Internet with a specific vendor to maintain confidentiality of the patent applications. Non-secure Internet search, browse, or retrieval activities that could disclose proprietary information directed to a specific application, other than a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, are NOT permitted. The same policy applies to the use of the Internet as a communication medium for connecting to commercial database providers. ---- That's http://www.google.com/search?q=patent+%22prior+art%22+%22internet+publicatio n%22&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&start=10&sa=N