We’ve got a lot of great new features lined up and ready for rollout. First up is a major expansion in coverage - the PatentFizz site now covers US published applications for patent.

The new applications feature is identical to the issued patents coverage on PatentFizz. The FizzDisplay page presents the abstract and published claims in an easy-to-read format…right alongside useful links and tools, including a link to the USPTO full text for the app, a link to the USPTO images for the app, and a link for a USPTO assignment search for the app. You even get two .pdf options on the FizzDisplay page - download a full .pdf of the published app or grab our innovative “one pager” document (a .pdf of just the application’s cover page).

How do you get a FizzDisplay of a published application? Simple…the process is the same whether you’re looking for a patent or a published app. Just go to the main page and enter the 11-digit publication number (e.g., 20070000001 — no slash). Click the GO button and you’ll be reading published claims in no time. You can do the same using the box located in the top right corner of all FizzDisplay pages (patents and apps).

And here’s the real kicker…one core function behind the PatentFizz site is to provide a place where anyone can submit any comment on any issued US patent. The new applications feature takes this to the next level. Now the public can attach comments to published applications, too. Anyone, any comment, any published application. How’s that for open source patent examination?

PatentFizz also aims to facilitate the patent discussion on the web. To that end, we’ve designed the applications feature to include the same linking features as the issued patents feature. Read more about it here…and start linking directly FizzDisplays for specific published applications, and even directly to published claims and comments submitted by the public.

We’re aiming to continuously improve the PatentFizz experience, so please send us any comments or suggestions you have on the new applications feature (or any other aspect of the site).

And stay tuned, because there’s several other great new features on the way.

The Official Gazette published this week includes reinstatement notices for 49 patents that had previously expired due to a failure to pay applicable maintenance fees. We have added a comment indicating the reinstated status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

We were able to calculate the length of the period between expiration and reinstatement for 16 of the 49 reinstated patents. The reinstatement comment for these patents includes this information as well.

The Official Gazette published this week includes maintenance fee related expiration notices for 1504 patents. We have added a comment indicating the expired status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

The Official Gazette published this week includes reinstatement notices for 21 patents that had previously expired due to a failure to pay applicable maintenance fees. We have added a comment indicating the reinstated status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

We were able to calculate the length of the period between expiration and reinstatement for 18 of the 21 reinstated patents. The reinstatement comment for these patents includes this information as well.

The Official Gazette published this week includes maintenance fee related expiration notices for 1473 patents. We have added a comment indicating the expired status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

The Official Gazette published this week includes reinstatement notices for 21 patents that had previously expired due to a failure to pay applicable maintenance fees. We have added a comment indicating the reinstated status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

We were able to calculate the length of the period between expiration and reinstatement for 19 of the 21 reinstated patents. The reinstatement comment for these patents includes this information as well.

The Official Gazette published this week includes maintenance fee related expiration notices for 1301 patents. We have added a comment indicating the expired status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

The Official Gazette published this week includes reinstatement notices for 29 patents that had previously expired due to a failure to pay applicable maintenance fees. We have added a comment indicating the reinstated status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

We were able to calculate the length of the period between expiration and reinstatement for 27 of the 29 reinstated patents. The reinstatement comment for these patents includes this information as well.

The Official Gazette published this week includes maintenance fee related expiration notices for 1008 patents. We have added a comment indicating the expired status to the FizzDisplay for each of these patents.

This one is priceless. While doing a bit of Google research on patent expirations, I noticed the ad below…Google had placed it alongside my search results.

Hurry up and get your expired patent today. Remember to shop victoriously because it’s better when you win it! Especially when it’s something you could otherwise get for free.