Slashdot Mirror
German Customs Agents Raid Another Trade Show
JagsLive tips the news that German customs agents have shown up in force to raid the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. (The last time we discussed news like this was during CeBIT, in Hanover, last March.) 220 customs agents seized electronic gear from 69 different booths at IFA. The Register reports that this raid, like the one last spring, was touched off after complaints by patent firm Sisvel. "They seized equipment which will now be checked for evidence of patent breaches. A spokesman for German Customs told us: 'We've raided 69 companies today. We have seized equipment including flat-screen TVs, CD players, set-top boxes and MP3 players.'"
and all you german patent officials can shove your patents up your arses.
its absolutely appalling to see a european country axeing their own trade. and its not as if germany is a HUGE market like china or whatever.
Read radical news here
Patent laws are like landfills, every country has them, and they all stink.
Will Sisvel be held responsible if their claims are found groundless?
From the listing of devices seized, they must be spreading their patent claims pretty wide.
Either that or it has something to do in common with all those devices - maybe remote control?
I don't read AC A human right
Follow the money. The company clearly bribes^W lobbies the right political or two that influences the police. Work up the chain of command and you'll see who is doing this. Examine their "support" and you'll learn why this is happening.
Regardless if the claims hold merit, there is only one direction the shit will flow. People will quit reserving booths for these shows. Manufacturers will go outside of Germany. Then... what are you left with? Nothing being made in Germany, and no one wanting to exhibit their wares there either.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
funny thing, on the press releases on sisvel homepage the logo has "WE PROTECT IDEAS" printed on it, I thought patents was for implementations of ideas not ideas by it self
preview button, my computer does't have any preview button
I'm not holding my breath, but the deterrent effect on German business competitiveness something like this can have might be enough to get politicians talking about what's wrong with their patent laws, or at least patent enforcement.
The PR war over patents has always been promoting innovation versus stifling it, with most business lobbyists lining up on the "they're good" side. In this particular case, though, the sides lined up are basically Sisvel versus everyone else, which may lead to some pro-reform lobbying (at least modest reform) even from usually pro-patent businesses. It also brings in other special interests who usually stay out of the patent wars, like the travel/convention industry.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
This is just Germans being German, but still it is incredibly stupid.
The US used to have the same laws. You know, back when the US economy was still doing well, the US didn't have a trade imbalance, and the future looked fairly bright.
Good thing too that the Soviets and the Americans burned the whole country to the ground, killed millions of them, and chased the few good
Thanks for outing yourself as a racist and a fascist.
Christ almighty, maybe it is time for the Americans to start bombing....
Where do you think this patent shit is coming from? It's coming from the US.
When the US patent system gets cleaned up, then the Europeans will follow.
Of course, bad as things are in Europe, European patent examiners are still considerably more responsible than US ones.
I'm willing to bet there's some hefty duties and bullshit stores have to go through to get those foreign books into Germany.
I doubt it. I also don't really think that English language books are generally much more expensive than German ones. It surely depends much more on the volume of sale (best sellers are cheaper than "exotic" books), and there might be larger differences between big shops (especially Amazon) and smaller ones. Difference that naturally do not exist for German books, since they are sold everywhere for the same price.
Just a random example: Ken Follett "Triple" as Paperback
amazon.de: 5.45 Euro -> $7.49 (that's after subtracting 7% German sales tax and converting with a rate of 1:1.47)
amazon.com: $7.99
Now, that's a single random example of an (apparently) current best seller book, so it does not say much about general price difference of English books between amazon.com and amazon.de. But in case there would be "hefty duties and bullshit stores have to go through to get those foreign books" it would be still surprising that amazon.de should be cheaper in any single case...
Oktoberfest is celebrated in September. I think they occasionaly indulge in a beer or two there.
They seized equipment which will now be checked for evidence of patent breaches. A spokesman for German Customs told us: 'We've raided 69 companies today. We have seized equipment including flat-screen TVs, CD players, set-top boxes and MP3 players.
They could have simply and politely bought these products (under the archaic theory that the makers are innocent until proven guilty) and tested them for patent breaches. If patent breaches are discovered then you wait for the next trade show and with your warrant or summons in hand you charge your perpetrator.
Seriously, what is with all this capitalist-driven use of armed policemen to enforce fucking intellectual property laws? This is all business stuff. You find someone breaks your patent you sue them and put them out of business.
And frankly, you have to be able to prove damages in an obvious manner. Demonstrate that you - or another legitimate competitor - would have been likely to obtain contracts and orders that were gained by unscrupulous infringers. And you must be able to demonstrate a conscientious intent to infringe. Perhaps it's not that easy for a Korean manufacturer to check the German patent records.
These kinds of draconian fishing expeditions by customs or other agents of commerce are patently stupid and should be illegal.
Man, I feel like watching Brazil again. It's such a prescient movie.
-- thinkyhead software and media