RE: XPointer and the '729 patent

[David LeBlanc <whisper@oz.net>]

I wonder if even the PTO would be indifferent to a bunch of 3rd party
ammendments to the original filing, particularly if they show prior art?

AFAIK, anyone can ammend a patent at any time - i've heard it's the first
step in fighting a patent even.

Dave LeBlanc

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steven J. DeRose [mailto:Steven_DeRose@brown.edu]
> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 9:47 AM
> To: Eve L. Maler; xml-dev@lists.xml.org
> Cc: 729-patent@east.sun.com; Janet Daly; patent-issues@w3.org
> Subject: Re: XPointer and the '729 patent
>
>
> I wish to echo Claude's point that a re-examination, if done, should
> be done in a scrupulously open fashion.
>
> If I understand the "normal" PTO re-examination procedure correctly
> (<dcl>I am not a lawyer</dcl>), it involves only representatives of
> the PTO and of the patent holder. This seems an obviously partial
> procedure, since the PTO has an interest in supporting its own prior
> decisions, and the patent holder has an interest in maintaining its
> patent's validity.
>
> This problem is compounded by the fact that such a re-examination
> lends a (potentially spurious) sense of strengthened validity that
> could adversely affect any later evaluations.
>
> So, I suggest the following:
>
> Either Sun do a simple "dedication to public domain" as someone
> suggested (this would surely be cheaper than spending another couple
> hours' of Sun attorneys' time),
>
> or ensure that a re-examination be, as Clause suggested, include a
> significant set of neutral third party experts. Surely several such
> can be found on this list; assuming people consider me reasonably
> neutral, I would be willing to help without fee (so long as the time
> didn't get excessive).
> --
> Steven_DeRose@Brown.edu; http://www.stg.brown.edu/~sjd
> Chief Scientist, Brown Univ. Scholarly Technology Group
>
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