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Consultations from government bodies and courts

Revision as of 07:42, 3 September 2010 by Ciaran (talk | contribs) (:''Another is the European Commission's [http://projects.isi.tu-berlin.de/ipr/eso/survey.php survey on patents in standards].'')
(for ongoing consultations, see Current events)
An important ongoing consultation is USPTO 2010 consultation - deadline 27 sept.
Another is the European Commission's survey on patents in standards.

Sometimes patent offices, government bodies, or courts seek comments from the public.

These consultations are usually performed in a way that systematically exagerates the influece of patent lawyers and rich organisations. Redressing this imbalance means you have to participate, and you have to get other stakeholders to participate too.

A biased sample responds (mostly lawyers)

It is important to note that consultations for setting substantial policy should probably be organised by the legislative body. If the consultation will have an effect on whether software patents are granted or upheld, then traditional separation of powers is short-circuited if a patent office is allowed to conduct the consultation.

For example, the European Patent Office makes money on patent applications it approves, not on applications it refuses. If they organise a consultation on expanding/limiting the scope for granting patents, they're susceptable to influence the consultation to produce a recommendation that patenting be expanded.

Related pages on ESP Wiki

Analyses of submissions for past consultations