[Patents] Dutch EPO branch on strike today

[Luuk.van.Dijk@xs4all.nl (Luuk van Dijk)]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2001 21:51:23 Gregory Aharonian wrote:
> >In lobbying terms, this short newsi[t]em does not only help parties
> >against swpats, but also parties (like the EISA) who just think
> >that EPO should just get more funds.
> 
> Unless the Dutch examiners striking were only the software patent
> examiners, this newsitem does nothing to help those against 
> software patents.  It just, like for many other aspects, that
> all areas of technology including software are having problems
> with regards to patent quality.

You are completely right, I should have formulated it a bit more careful:
it helps anyone who is arguing any kind of patent to be undesireable 
because of something that the patent offices are not doing right (but
that includes those against swpats specifically) , because the strike 
shows that even the employees think they can't do their job  properly.

My point was that it doesn't even really neccesitate the solution of no
patents, or no patents on <fill in your special branche here>, but it also
allows for the 'more money=more quality' argument, which, IMNSHO, is
bullocks as long as it is more expensive to reject than to accept an 
application for an attorney.  I'm sure I've read the factor 7 in this
context, but I can't find the references to that anymore.  Did I make it
up? (I wouldn't put that beyond me)

Incidentally, I think 'harmonisation' means 'the act of making <something>
harmonic', which of course can only mean making the Laplacian vanish. All
other interpretations are jargon.

___________________________________________________