Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 03:33:17 -0500
From: Thad E Starner <testarne@media.mit.edu>
Message-Id: <199701130833.DAA01618@WestFinchley.media.mit.edu>
To: rdshydur@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <9701101442.AA07759@al-forno.MIT.EDU> (rdshydur@MIT.EDU)
Subject: FYI  some commentary

--text follows this line--


To: patent-news@world.std.com
Subject: PATNEWS: Danger of IBM's patent Web site
Sender: patent-news-approval@world.std.com
Precedence: list
Reply-To: patent-news@europe.std.com

!19970107  Danger of IBM's patent Web site

    (Someone just sent me a job position offer in Israel - can you resent it?)

    A few of my lawyer readers were chitchatting about some of the legal
implications of IBM's patent Web site.  For example, how many of you want
your search histories on the computers of the second biggest, and a litigious,
company in America?  Keep in mind that IBM has lots of computing patents,
hardware and software, the type of patents that its competitor's employees
will be searching at IBM's Web site.
    It is one reason why I have been arguing that either the PTO put the
fulltext of all patents onto the Internet or some non-profit/academic group
like I have been trying to organize (and still trying). Here is their comments.

    I've been thinking about this IBM web site, and also Lexis, and Westlaw, 
    and Smartpatents, and Optipat, etc.  Getting the OG is not (I hope!) 
    tantamount to having read or having been put on notice that you read or 
    even understand the ramifications of any single patent.  But does Lexis 
    and Westlaw keep a record of the patents you've called up on screen?  If 
    they do, is that information discoverable so that when a patentee says 
    you owe triple damages because you knew of the patent and proceeded 
    anyway, the burden falls on you to refute the subpoenaed Lexis/Westlaw 
    records?  (Are these records from Westlaw et al discoverable?)  Does it 
    make it worse if you actually downloaded the patent?  Do they keep 
    records that you also downloaded a copy?  

    Is the IBM site also monitoring who searches it and when?  "Mr. XXXXXX, 
    on January 9th, your client searched and called up on screen and then 
    downloaded a copy of our IBM Patent 5,xxx,yyy.  So how can you say they 
    had no notice that the patent existed until we sent you our standard 
    nastygram?"  If IBM can use this info, can anyone else say (after 
    discovering IBM's records) that an alleged infringer searched the IBM 
    patent site and screened and/or printed their 5,abc,def patent and thus 
    owes triple damages?


PTO - put the full text of all patents onto the Internet.  It is the only
way to best serve the public interest, and best protect the public interest.


Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service