[Patents] monopoly/publicity contradiction?

[Gregory Aharonian srctran@world.std.com]

>The problem with stupid software patents is not the examination process.
>Are you convinced now that the problem of easy/stupid patents is not
>with the examiners, and that the problem is in the law?

No.  I have little appreciate of what goes on inside the UK Patent
Office, but I do know that if US patent examiners had more time,
money and resources to do their searching and analysis, that most
of the stupid/bad software patents (and stupid/bad patents in other
fields) would not issue.  The law is fine - there is nothing special
about software that it should be treated differently from any other
industry or field of technology.  At least here in the US, and I
suspect in Europe as well, all that is needed to get rid of most
of the crap issuing, is to provide examiners with more resources to
do their jobs - to help the find prior art that allows them to kill
stupid/bad patents on the easier rejection grounds of novelty.

And the problems the UKPO and others have with obviousness applies
to all other fields of technology as well, not just to software.

In short, there is nothing special or holy about software.  

Greg Aharonian