Re: ECClass table ?

[PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de>]

PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de> writes:

> There are a lot of pages about the EC Patent Classification system on
> espacenet.com.  Yet I can't find a simple table where the codes are
> listed with explanations.

Thaks for the responses.
They show me that indee the table is not available.
There is only a complex directory of JavaScript pages for which
one can of course write a downloading robot, but which don't provide
any information even if you download them with a normal mirroring
program.

> There are search masks which must be using such a table.

Indeed it is unthinkable that the source for this Javascript stuff
is not a simple tabular listing which is available somewhere
internally in the EPO.
 
> Is this table being withheld or is it available somewhere ?

Someone protested to me that I was accusing people of "withholding"
information, while indeed the EPO is publishing the information
... they aren't obliged to let me have it in one go.

This reminds me very much of a recent discussion on a patent
information professionals' list where someone complained in a more
diplomatic way

  Subject: patent info economics

  ...or, why must patent downloads be either tedious or expensive?

  - - - -

  This is partially a complaint and may upset some people but I'm sure others 
will agree with me.  Or maybe have
  answers to the questions I pose.  And of course, these are MY opinions not 
my employer's.

  - - - -

  If you want to download and print out patents, as far as I know you have 
two options. 

  You can go to one of the free sites (USPTO, Espacenet), and download and 
print the patent page by page.

  Or you can use a commercial service which offers the convenience of a 
single pdf file.  I understand that they need
  to have servers and bandwidth to store the pdf files and handle the large 
volume of requests.  But it seems that
  these services cost quite a bit more than necessary to cover these costs: 
e.g. a Micropatent download of a
  US/EP/PCT patent pdf document is $4.95.  Either they are making a handsome 
profit on this, or there's a significatn
  expense I'm overlooking. 

  As for the USPTO etc. I understand their need to restrict the number of 
patents downloaded per IP address to ration
  their bandwith.  But I don't see what they gain by the one-page-at-a-time 
restriction.  Unless the public policy
  guiding these offices includes helping the commercial patent delivery 
industry.

Although the respondents to this complaint were not as angry as the
writer apparently feared, they all pointed out that the current
policy of withholding information is just fine.

The rationale for this policy is expressed rather shamelessly by the
depatisnet.de:

   This service is designed primarily for patent information novices, in
   particular, in small and medium enterprises, as well as at schools,
   universities and other scientific institutions. Application of
   additional software for circumventing the document download
   restriction (page-by-page only) is not authorised. The German Patent
   and Trade Mark Office reserves the right to exclude any person from
   using DEPATISnet who is in breach of this rule. 

As far as the argument of bandwidth cost concerned, I cannot take that
seriously.  Even the free software community manages to make large
packages downloadable (see e.g. the Debian Project).  You can solve
the problem by OCR and by a network of mirror servers.  In any case,
this is already happening, and I'd welcome the EPO to gradually give
up the withholding policy and become part of the community effort.
Maybe start by sending publishing the ECClass table or sending it
to me.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-12789608   
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
135,000 signatures against software patents      http://www.noepatents.org/