Once again hyperbole and factless (and mindless) rant. The average litigation runs about 1 to 3 million, the average opposition in Europe runs about $100k. Neither is cheap, but obtaining a monopoly that prevents others from bringing products to market isn't suppose to be cheap.
starting in 2000, all patent applications are published 18 months after they are filed unless the applicant states thatthey are not filing outside of the US.
As for trade secrets, the first to file system won't matter. The holder of a trade secret always ran the risk that someone else would patent your secret, leaving you in a bind. THe first to invent does not help because if you held something as a trade secret, you did not "dilligently reduce it to practice" and therefore you would not be allowed a patent anyway.
The way to protect a trade secret in this case is to publish it in an obscure journal in a strange language... this will prevent others from patenting but will be hard for people to find because it is obscurely published
Jeez, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. The proposed opposition process is appealable --- but why let facts stand in the way of your tirade.
Slashdot Mirror
Once again hyperbole and factless (and mindless) rant. The average litigation runs about 1 to 3 million, the average opposition in Europe runs about $100k. Neither is cheap, but obtaining a monopoly that prevents others from bringing products to market isn't suppose to be cheap.
starting in 2000, all patent applications are published 18 months after they are filed unless the applicant states thatthey are not filing outside of the US. As for trade secrets, the first to file system won't matter. The holder of a trade secret always ran the risk that someone else would patent your secret, leaving you in a bind. THe first to invent does not help because if you held something as a trade secret, you did not "dilligently reduce it to practice" and therefore you would not be allowed a patent anyway. The way to protect a trade secret in this case is to publish it in an obscure journal in a strange language ... this will prevent others from patenting but will be hard for people to find because it is obscurely published
Jeez, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. The proposed opposition process is appealable --- but why let facts stand in the way of your tirade.