Now if they would combine expiration date with file date we'd be done.
The reasoning is fairly simple, patents expire and the idea becomes public domain, that is why, starting in 2015 as the great patent binge of late 90's starts expiring, through 2025, all of that 'crap' that you see as being patented will become public domain. Unlike copyright there will be no restriction on you using it. (like you can write your own RSA encryption code now without fear of being sued)
Also during that time there has been some progress made on getting better examiners into the office since we're starting to see examiners who actually used computers in high school versus the ones in 1995 who had just heard about them and never actually used one.
So you file as soon as you can, and if its a spurious filing you have exactly 20 years (if we could have them expire on file+20) to make the product work and to ship it with patent protection. Alternatively, we go back to a requirement that the invention must have an exemplar which the PTO can examine with the application. That however was originally eliminated because it was slowing everything down. (although some of the model work is simply stunning, check out the museum some time).
In the mean time I'm gonna watch all my old Star Trek episodes and file patents on all that stuff :-)
The reasoning is fairly simple, patents expire and the idea becomes public domain, that is why, starting in 2015 as the great patent binge of late 90's starts expiring, through 2025, all of that 'crap' that you see as being patented will become public domain. Unlike copyright there will be no restriction on you using it. (like you can write your own RSA encryption code now without fear of being sued)
Also during that time there has been some progress made on getting better examiners into the office since we're starting to see examiners who actually used computers in high school versus the ones in 1995 who had just heard about them and never actually used one.
So you file as soon as you can, and if its a spurious filing you have exactly 20 years (if we could have them expire on file+20) to make the product work and to ship it with patent protection. Alternatively, we go back to a requirement that the invention must have an exemplar which the PTO can examine with the application. That however was originally eliminated because it was slowing everything down. (although some of the model work is simply stunning, check out the museum some time).
In the mean time I'm gonna watch all my old Star Trek episodes and file patents on all that stuff :-)