Posted on 05/02/2005 1:34:44 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
More fallout from the SCO - IBM lawsuit.
No one I know in the software industry would describe Novell as follows: "the giant software and computer services company."
Novell is not a major force in the industry. Commerce One is basically dead. Lots of issues in patent law, not just software but also in biotech, industrial manufacturing. Not much need for patent reform that I see. All domains of the law are subject to abuse and they tend to work themselves out. I hate lawyers, but this is not an area of major concern.
Their purpose has transmogrified into being a mere vehicle for lawyers to erect royalty toll booths for derivative, non-innovative "business methods."
When some companies can patent the "One Click Purchase", and other companies exist that sell no products--they make money from patent lawsuits, I'd say that our patent system is broken. It is a well known fact that most patents applied for are granted without research by the patent office since they are massively understaffed. It is also well known that patents are being granted for every trivial change to a product. Not too long ago a patent was granted for the wheel (using clever language). The US patent system is completely broken (it was never intended for intellectual properties or to be used to describe trivial aspects of products). Unless our patent system is revised, the number of lawyers each company will have to employ to stay legal will increase until our industries are paralyzed.
bump
Most patents applied for are not granted as applied for, but with significant changes and restrictions. So much for that well known fact. For the most recent year that statistics are available, there were about 350,000 applications and only around 180,000 patents issued. Note that the 180,000 issued is of the entire body of applications, not just those received in 2003. So really about 10% of applications result in an actual patent and most of those are narrowed during the process.
If the patent system was not created to protect intellectual property then why does it exist. If you object to process patents, then let the court work them out. Few have been issued and fewer defended with success. Patents are critical to many industries, especially pharma, bio-ag, microchips, chemical, and others.
Blast, foiled again!
Check your Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause *, grants Congress the authority "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries". Do you see anything in there that says "except for business methods, trivial aspects of products, or anything else that pisses off burzum"? Nope, I didn't see that, either.
The Patent Office has never, and will never, grant a patent "without research". They still examine every application with great care and professionalism. They certainly have some catching up to do in the software area, and sometimes invalid patents are issued. That's what courts are for. The U.S. patent system is partly responsible for almost every major technological advance in the last 100 years. Trashing it would be the height of stupidity.
Thanks for the info!
Added to Keyword "Intellectual Property"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=intellectualproperty
No patent is ever issued "mysteriously". Every piece of correspondence is in the file history, including interviews, conferences, etc. It would only be mysterious if you couldn't read English. If a patent is issued, and there is invalidating prior art out there, anyone is free to file a petition for re-examination of the application without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom.
There is also no way that a "legitimate" patent can be "stolen" by anyone. Patents are strictly creatures of national sovreignty: a U.S. patent does nothing to prevent a Chinese company fromn producing and selling in China, just as a Chinese patent is worthless in the U.S.
If you're advising your clients to stop filing patent applications, you're inviting them to give away their R&D expenditures. Doesn't sound very prudent to me.
One of my Church members was in an investment group whose own R&D procured the patent for boil in the bag rice. This was back in the 70's or so.
They heavily marketed to all the major US food processors but none would buy into it.
After the patent expired, boil in the bag rice came out under many labels.
Let me add one note...Im not indicting patent attorneys..I think we need MORE good patent attorneys...especially at the patent office.
We also need alot more budget to hire some good patent examiners...the staff is woefully undermanned IMO.
Thats where Im going with this point...not to abolish the patent office for Gods sake.
Sorry about the crabby tone. You know, I really need to cut down on the caffeine...
My point about "stealing" patents was that a U.S. patent was never supposed to protect you outside the U.S. If you want to be protected in China, you better file in China. That's not a U.S. patent system problem, it's a business decision problem.
If the "bogus" patent you describe is still out there, it will never be enforced given the prior art you describe. Examiners, even careful examiners, sometimes make mistakes. From what you say, that one would be gone on summary judgment in short order.
I thought AOL bought Netscape years back. If so, they are still one of the big boys.
Of course right after I post I realize I'm an idiot and cannot read.
Novell is a tiny bit player in the industry at this point. Only decaying systems still use Novell. Not sure how these guys can keep a straight face by pretending this has nothing to do with future litigation.
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