[Patents] How to prevent a patent

[PILCH Hartmut phm@a2e.de]

> Well, I don't think it is such a dishonest job. Pushing for more power
> to patent lawyers and the like isn't altruistic, but it is just minding
> one's businesses.

The same applies to those people in medieval times who did the dirty work
of slaughtering animals, operating prisons etc.  Of course all this is
just part of the system and it was quite harsh to put the blame on those
poor people who did those unfulfilling jobs.  Yet, popular sentiment
considered those professions to be "dishonest" or "unhonorable" or
whatever.  The same applies to people who operate a malfunctioning patent
system or other systems that do harm.  Sometimes these people develop a
kind of obstinate professional ideology.  E.g. some prostitutes responded
to sociologists that they believed they fullfilled an important social
need and indeed contributed to the reduction of male aggressiveness and
the dimunition of rape cases.  When people are already in a certain role,
they sometimes become fanatic about finding justifications for this role.
It is an unhealthy mental pattern.  I always recommend people to escape
from it by changing their role.  It is not so difficult for a patent
lawyer to concentrate on those patents that are beneficial to society.

OK, there's no need to speculate about personal motivations of one's
opponent all the time.  But when people are as obstinate and unwilling to
take others' arguments into account as this is happening in the swpat
discussion, I do get tempted.

-phm