[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Patent Spam (was Re: US Patent 6,687,897)
Michael Kay wrote: > The US Patent Office is clearly not applying stringent enough criteria. > What I would like to know is, is it a conspiracy (protectionism for the > US software industry, jobs for the lawyers), or is it just incompetence? It's likely overwork. Intellectual property is a checklist item for investors (especially venture capitalists), so there's enormous pressure on small tech startups to patent something -- *anything* -- even if there's no malicious intent to blackmail others with a bogus patent. It's pathetic, but it's hard to blame them, since the investors hold all the cards. When big, well-funded companies play the same game, though, it's reprehensible. It seems unlikely that the staff at the USPTO can do more than give each application a cursory glance and make sure that all the required fields are filled in; it's up to the courts to figure out what the truth might be. The problem right now is that there is a moral hazard to filing a bogus patent claim: you don't face any serious consequences if you lose, so why not take a chance? In many ways, it's exactly analogous to spamming. If a company could stand to lose millions (or more) because of a irresponsible patent, the system might work a little better. All the best, David
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