RWS achieves crowdsourcing milestone with $10M in patent search rewards paid out to researchers

We're proud to share the news that our global community of researchers recently achieved $10M in collective rewards received for their performance on our crowdsourced searches. 

Unique to RWS in the IP services industry, crowdsourced searches employ the use of a “crowd” of qualified researchers from all over the world who participate and submit references relevant to a search objective. In its inception, this was typically used to locate hard-to-find non-patent literature (references from journals, news articles, product literature, etc.) for high-stakes invalidity litigation. Over the years, however, this search model has carefully developed into a full suite of service offerings with applications in everything ranging from finding evidence of use (EoU) for purposes of licensing and monetization, to identifying whitespace for product development. With RWS’s crowdsearch model, researchers who participate in these searches only receive rewards for the highest quality and most relevant submissions, incentivizing them to seek out and find the references others, including other professional search services, may have missed.

Reaching $10M in rewards paid marks an important milestone underlining the continued success of the community in performing validity searches, novelty searches, EoU searches and more, as well as a testament to the crowdsourced search model. Most importantly, it highlights the dedication of the RWS Community. For over 10 years the 40,000+ strong RWS Community has consistently performed beyond expectation and delivered the often hard-to-find results demanded by intellectual property searches.

“This milestone represents the hard work and, ultimately, the success that we see every day from our community. Their motivation and skills enabling them to go out and find unique references is unparalleled,” said Peter Vanderheyden, Vice President, IP Research for RWS. He added, “It’s also exciting to be able to offer these research opportunities to such an intelligent and professional community. Coming from over 170 countries, often with advanced degrees, they bring a diversity of education, experience and knowledge which we apply to client projects. As diverse and skilled as they are, they also share in their intellectual curiosity for their chosen fields and a desire to apply the art of search to new and tangential fields. The potential compensation and work flexibility are also attractive. They never fail to impress.” 

Take for example Angeloluca” (all researchers are anonymous to one another and to the clients as are clients to them), a member of the RWS community since 2016, and presently one of RWS’s top performers. In that short time, Angeloluca has participated in over 240 studies, racking up over 3,000 submitted references. Working in the biotechnology sector since graduating college, Angeloluca relies on a background in science and experiences working closely with intellectual property in order to properly dissect the requirements of the search and find the references others may have missed. When asked about the motivation to compete and contribute, Angeloluca said that “Participating in studies through RWS is not only a chance to win rewards, but also an opportunity to increase skills directly relevant to the patent field, considering the highly challenging context of each search.” 

With this milestone on the books, RWS continues to look ahead, delivering all search results, both crowd-based and traditional, through our leading-edge IP research platform, AOP Connect. Accessible from anywhere in the world where you have internet, the AOP Connect platform enhances your IP search experience and investment, allowing you to view and analyze results as they come in, in near real-time, as well as sort, rank, highlight and export to meet your business needs. 

For more information about IP research with RWS, please click here. For more information about AOP Connect, please click here.