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If 'it' is patent law, then yes. If 'it' is software development, then no. Do we want to encourage the development of patent law, or of software?

by deogeo 7y ago

jacques_chester 7y ago
Patent law is pretty well-developed at this point. And patent lawyers typically have degrees and relevant experience in the field they focus on. So most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do.
- justinclift 7y ago
  > ... most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do. Please provide evidence.
  - jacques_chester 7y ago
    I've worked with several. Computer science degrees, publications, time working at Microsoft and IBM, etc. All of them were as qualified or more qualified than I am. As it happens one of them left his law firm and founded a software company.
    - Supermancho 7y ago
      > most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do. > I've worked with several To be fair, that's not a compelling answer. Given the outrageous cases that are publicized, I can understand how there is an incentive to NOT know (or act as if) in an exploitative manner. According to a razor, it's less likely that the competence is a standard or relevant.
      - jacques_chester 7y ago
        What would make it a compelling answer? I have noted elsewhere that the outrageous examples are publicised because they are outrageous, but that doesn't make them a valid statistical sample of all software patents. Patent lawyers need to understand the material well enough to draft the claims and perform clearance searches. If they can't do that then they are sailing towards failing their fiduciary duty; a lawyer anxious to hold onto their bar membership would refer you to another one with a speciality in the field. If I go to a criminal lawyer and ask for tax help, they will refer me to a tax lawyer. If I go to a chemical engineering patent lawyer to talk about a compression algorithm, they will refer me to a patent lawyer who specialises in software and computing.
  - wiggles_md 7y ago
    Passing the patent bar requires a baseline of technical knowledge. I don’t know that a patent attorney, agent, or examiner knows “as much about software” as you or GP, but it would be wrong to believe they are ignorant on the subject. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USPTO_registration_examination https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USPTO_registration_examinati...

If 'it' is patent law, then yes. If 'it' is software development, then no. Do we want to encourage the development of patent law, or of software?

by deogeo 7y ago

If 'it' is patent law, then yes. If 'it' is software development, then no. Do we want to encourage the development of patent law, or of software?

jacques_chester 7y ago

Patent law is pretty well-developed at this point. And patent lawyers typically have degrees and relevant experience in the field they focus on. So most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do.

justinclift 7y ago
> ... most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do. Please provide evidence.
- jacques_chester 7y ago
  I've worked with several. Computer science degrees, publications, time working at Microsoft and IBM, etc. All of them were as qualified or more qualified than I am. As it happens one of them left his law firm and founded a software company.
  - Supermancho 7y ago
    > most software patent lawyers know as much about software as you or I do. > I've worked with several To be fair, that's not a compelling answer. Given the outrageous cases that are publicized, I can understand how there is an incentive to NOT know (or act as if) in an exploitative manner. According to a razor, it's less likely that the competence is a standard or relevant.
    - jacques_chester 7y ago
      What would make it a compelling answer? I have noted elsewhere that the outrageous examples are publicised because they are outrageous, but that doesn't make them a valid statistical sample of all software patents. Patent lawyers need to understand the material well enough to draft the claims and perform clearance searches. If they can't do that then they are sailing towards failing their fiduciary duty; a lawyer anxious to hold onto their bar membership would refer you to another one with a speciality in the field. If I go to a criminal lawyer and ask for tax help, they will refer me to a tax lawyer. If I go to a chemical engineering patent lawyer to talk about a compression algorithm, they will refer me to a patent lawyer who specialises in software and computing.
- wiggles_md 7y ago
  Passing the patent bar requires a baseline of technical knowledge. I don’t know that a patent attorney, agent, or examiner knows “as much about software” as you or GP, but it would be wrong to believe they are ignorant on the subject. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USPTO_registration_examination https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USPTO_registration_examinati...