Re: [Patents] Publishing patents

[Rui Miguel Seabra <rms@1407.org>]

On Sun, 2004-01-18 at 20:41, Hartmut Pilch wrote:
> >  - The EPO is no longer publishing full patent information, using
> >    DRM (password protected PDF files) and incomplete publication
> >    to protect its proprietary database vending partners, thus 
> >    making the       FFII Software Patent Statistics 
> > http://swpat.ffii.org/patents/stats/
> >    of last year incomplete.
> > 
> > 1. Doest this mean ordinary people cannot get to the patent information 
> > any more?
> 
> No, it just becomes a bit more difficult.

A lot more difficult in many cases, where people can't view those
documents because they can't install the software required to view them
because they don't agree with their license.

If they did install the software anyway, they would be committing a
copyright infringement, which is very bad.

> Meanwhile there is again some hope that we can still make our patent 
> statistics useful.  But the policy of password-protecting PDF files
> as well as various other obstructionist policies on the EPO and other PTO 
> websites obviously do raise the questions that you have asked.

I think this is one argument more that EPO is abusing their power.
I also think this change _is_ intentional, and that there's no occam's
razor to be seen...

Rui

-- 
+ No matter how much you do, you never do enough -- unknown
+ Whatever you do will be insignificant,
| but it is very important that you do it -- Gandhi
+ So let's do it...?

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