8 ms·

>which has a substantial number of judges with degrees in science and engineering. Do you have any numbers to support that assertion? I'm interested in what y

by jnbiche 12y ago

>which has a substantial number of judges with degrees in science and engineering. Do you have any numbers to support that assertion? I'm interested in what you consider to be "a substantial number"

rayiner 12y ago
At least 6 of 18 current Fed. Cir. judges have a STEM degree (not counting some of the unspecified B.S. degrees). All or almost all will hire one or several law clerks with an science or engineering degree.
- nitrogen 12y ago
  How many of them come from software?
  - rayiner 12y ago
    Not a single one. Mostly chemistry and electrical engineering.
    - nitrogen 12y ago
      It seems that the attitudes toward patents of engineers in the traditional engineering disciplines may be expected to differ from software engineers. Thus, I don't see it as being inconsistent to want more software engineers to make patent decisions.
WildUtah 12y ago
You can look it up. There are 12 seats for judges, all currently filled. Six retired judges are on active senior status and can take as many or as few cases as they would like. They all have Wikipedia biographies. Notice that patent lawyers gain status and power through the cancerous growth of an irrational, unpredictable, totalitarian patent system shoving its filthy tentacles far beyond the law into areas like software where it does not belong. Therefore the most scientifically literate patent judges are the worst judges on the court, advocating for their own personal interest and dispensing with the law at the cost of innovation and science. Chief Judge Prost and Judge Dyk are the leaders of the rational restraint faction on the Court, pro-patent but not biased or irrational. They have no extensive science background but often appear to understand science and engineering issues far better than the judges that do because they are unbiased. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_...

by jnbiche 12y ago

>which has a substantial number of judges with degrees in science and engineering. Do you have any numbers to support that assertion? I'm interested in what you consider to be "a substantial number"

rayiner 12y ago

At least 6 of 18 current Fed. Cir. judges have a STEM degree (not counting some of the unspecified B.S. degrees). All or almost all will hire one or several law clerks with an science or engineering degree.

nitrogen 12y ago
How many of them come from software?
- rayiner 12y ago
  Not a single one. Mostly chemistry and electrical engineering.
  - nitrogen 12y ago
    It seems that the attitudes toward patents of engineers in the traditional engineering disciplines may be expected to differ from software engineers. Thus, I don't see it as being inconsistent to want more software engineers to make patent decisions.

WildUtah 12y ago

You can look it up. There are 12 seats for judges, all currently filled. Six retired judges are on active senior status and can take as many or as few cases as they would like. They all have Wikipedia biographies. Notice that patent lawyers gain status and power through the cancerous growth of an irrational, unpredictable, totalitarian patent system shoving its filthy tentacles far beyond the law into areas like software where it does not belong. Therefore the most scientifically literate patent judges are the worst judges on the court, advocating for their own personal interest and dispensing with the law at the cost of innovation and science. Chief Judge Prost and Judge Dyk are the leaders of the rational restraint faction on the Court, pro-patent but not biased or irrational. They have no extensive science background but often appear to understand science and engineering issues far better than the judges that do because they are unbiased. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_...