Amazon files for Web services patent

TalkBack 12 of 13:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

It's really the sad part

Patent examiners work under a quota system that allows them, on average, less than eight hours total to dispose an application. Mind you this is total, including prior art search, first and second action, final disposition - all correspondence, phone calls, you name it.

This works in the traditional mechanical, chemical, electrical arts, where the classification scheme is well ordered and understood, literature well lined up and the engineers hired as patent examiners develop a reasonable degree of expertise.

For software (and here I mean inventions that can only be realized in software, such as operating systems, office automation and the like), the situation is worse than hopeless. Terms are not standardized, constantly evolving technology and meta standards defy classification, and much of what exists isn't "published." A patent search system, if one could devise a workable one, isn't that valuable, because the preponderance of innovation is in open source open literature, not in patent applications.

Why is a European patent worth so much more than its US counterpart, when the two were on a par 20 years ago? Software patents - USPTO capitulated, possibly out of spite, but capitulate it did. At least USPTO can now say "I told you so," but this kind of moral victory is not what should have been sought. It is the US Patent and Trademark Office, not EPO or JPO, whose director terms it an "agency in crisis." The EU, to its everlasting credit, took a sober look at the US fiasco and turned its back on the insanity.

But don't blame the examiners - they are as much the victim as US business and independent software developers. Only the lawyers have won.

Posted by: IT_User   Posted on: 07/28/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Virtualization: Architectural Considerations And Other Evaluation Criteria VMware Of the many approaches to x86 systems virtualization available in the ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now