Re: [Patents] Indian patent practice

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

> >From the New York Times:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/15/technology/15innovate.html
>
> It seems US firms are using Indian engineers to write US patents. This makes
> the cost of patenting less but also shows that patents provide no protection
> vs. outsourcing.

Indeed the "low cost economy" argument is that patents facilitate
outsourcing, thereby allowing multinationals to keep a headquarter with
administration, patent department etc in US/EU/Bermudas/Ireland without
having to hire a lot of staff in the "high cost" places.  A few years
ago the idea was that the headquarter would comprise an R&D department
and only the blue-collar labour would be outsourced.  Now even the R&D
departement and the patent department are being outsourced.  The
innovation moves abroad and we keep the litigation here.  But, as the
Indian patent writer's example shows, in the end even that might move
elsewhere.  Common sense says that there is no way to beat "low cost
economy".  "Economy" is about economising, after all.