Patent Reform Project Looking for RoR Help

We don’t normally broadcast job postings, but Andy Oram writes about one that could be of interest to our audience:

The Community Patent Review (a phase of the better-known Peer to Patent project) is seeking to hire a top-notch Ruby on Rails programmer.

This is not an ordinary job posting; it’s a chance to get paid for public service. The project is developing software for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is being closely watched in the UK too. It implements a process to let experts in multiple fields to submit prior art and other information related to patents.

This project has the potential to alleviate some of the problems universally recognized with patents (particularly patents that should have rejected because of prior art) and can serve as a model for other projects that open up government to the public….

As a Rails programmer, job candidates are expected to handle basic JavaScript, CSS, and Ajax work as well. Residency in San Francisco is preferred….The creator and coordinator of the project is Beth Simone Noveck, a New York Law School professor. If you’re interested, please reach her at bnoveck (at domain) nyls.edu.”

Read Andy’s post for more details.

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