Another difficulty with establishing prior art to prevent others from obtaining patents is that different inventors and different patent agents or attorneys use different terminology to describe the same or similar inventions.
To use a simple mechanical example: - Alex develops gadget that includes a "... coupling comprising two pipes aligned end-to-end with a washer in between and a clamp that grasps both pipes ... " Alex publishes and/or patents her gadget. - Subsequently, Beth develops a similar gadget that includes "... a link comprising a plurality of hollow cylinders, each adjacent cylinder linked to the next by a circular gasket, the adjacent cylinders being functionally attached to each other ..." Are these inventions the same? Is Beth's invention obvious in light of Alex's? They certainly appear to be the same, but without knowing the details of the patents and their prosecution history, there's no way to know. If a patent examiner working on Beth's case relied on word searches - or was just working too quickly - it is likely that Alex's would not show up in the search or not be carefully considered; and Beth's application might grant as a patent. Now consider complex software patents. The same software function can be described in a myriad of ways. It is quite possible for the first inventor to establish prior art that SHOULD block another application for the same or a similar invention, but nevertheless the second application is granted as a patent. If the second inventor tries to enforce the patent it SHOULD be declared invalid in court; but no one wants to be accused of patent infringement, forced to pay a fortune in legal fees, and dragged into Federal Court just to prove a point. One advantage of the first inventor actually patenting the invention, rather than just publishing it, is that then at least the first inventor can threaten to counter sue, and perhaps reach an quick settlement. Other than increase the price of applying for a patent (again) and hiring more and better examiners, I don't know the solution to this problem. Richard Tanzer ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 8: explain analyze is your friend