[trial.misc.legal.software] Way to fight trivial patents

brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) (10/23/90)

In article <BZS.90Oct20184456@world.std.com> bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) writes:
> >I'm not a lawyer, but it is true that you can't patent an idea that's
> >been discussed before in a public forum (e.g, USENET).  That is, to be
> >patent-able, it must have *never* been available in published form.
> I believe that (at least) that last sentence is not true. Apparently
> you have up to a year after publication to file a patent.

You do---in the United States. No other country allows patents after
publication, to my knowledge. So the Japanese can use compress. :-(

In any case, the point that the first poster was trying to make is
correct: once Joe Shmoe has published X, nobody can patent X---except
maybe Joe, but only within a year, and only in the US. That doesn't mean
you can assume that a published result is unpatented, since patents are
kept secret during the several-year approval process.

---Dan

lwh@harmonica.cis.ohio-state.edu (Loyde W Hales) (10/23/90)

In article <26987:Oct2220:27:1490@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) writes:

>In article <BZS.90Oct20184456@world.std.com> bzs@world.std.com
(Barry Shein) writes:

>You do---in the United States. No other country allows patents after
>publication, to my knowledge.

Question:  what are the definitions of "patent" and "publication" in this
	   sentence?

Specifically, suppose I file for a patent under US law.  According to treaty,
as I understand it, once awarded the patent is recognized by "all" countries.
(Is this accurate?)  This being much like the Bourne (sp?) convention with
copyrighting.

If I file for a patent, though, it could take several years to be awarded.
In fact, in the US this is not too unusual, I understand.

Does this mean I can't use my product after filing for a patent until it is
awarded without losing my international claims?  Afterall, it would be used
(published) before the patent was awarded.  Somehow this sounds wrong.


--

                                Department of Computer and Information Science
Loyde W. Hales, II                      The Ohio State University
lwh@cis.ohio-state.edu          2036 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, Ohio  43210

brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) (11/04/90)

In article <85118@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Loyde W Hales <lwh@cis.ohio-state.edu> writes:
> In article <26987:Oct2220:27:1490@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
> brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) writes:
> >You do---in the United States. No other country allows patents after
> >publication, to my knowledge.
> Question:  what are the definitions of "patent" and "publication" in this
> 	   sentence?

Submitting the patent application, and publishing in the sense of
copyright.

> Does this mean I can't use my product after filing for a patent until it is
> awarded without losing my international claims?

Once you've filed an application, you can do whatever you want.

---Dan