There is a new, but very limited way, for 3rd parties to participate. In fact this site, Ask Patents, was created as a way leverage "the crowd" to use this new feature of the AIA changes to patent law. Third parties can only participate by submitting prior art documents and brief explanations of their relevance during a particular time window. Please see the FAQs for details.

There is a new, but very limited way, for 3rd parties to participate. In fact this site, Ask Patents, was created as a way leverage "the crowd" to use this new feature of the AIA changes to patent law. Third parties can only participate by submitting prior art documents and brief explanations of their relevance during a particular time window. Please see the much more complete answer by Micah.