12.01.19
Gemini version available ♊︎Maximalists Cherry-Picking the So-Called ‘Corbyn’ ‘Leak’ for Their Patent Agenda While the US Lobbies Britain for Software Patents and Worse
Not Jeremy Corbyn’s and not a leak, either
Let’s examine the originals. And more importantly, let’s look at the right part (about a dozen pages out of nearly 500 pages) and what it tells us about software patents in Europe as seen by the US, where 35 U.S.C. § 101 restricts the USPTO like the EPC is supposed to restrict the EPO (they use buzzwords as loopholes and workarounds)
Summary: A quick look at what last week’s media coverage may have missed and what patent maximalists don’t want to tell us about confidential trade-related documents
THE European Patent Office and US Patent and Trademark Office are both interested in software patents. What’s not to like? More income!!! António Campinos (like Battistelli) continues to undermine the EPC and the EPO nowadays brags about getting the US to adopt software patents using a bunch of nonsense like “hey hi” (they both use the same tactics, as we’ve shown here many times before).
The ‘leaks’ often attributed (in last week’s media reports) to Corbyn were not actually his or his party’s. They had been posted to Reddit weeks ago. They were published under the title “Great Britain is practically standing on her knees working on a trade agreement with the US” (seems apt).
We’ve made local copies of these files for longterm preservation purposes. There are six PDF files in a compressed archive.
- Document #1
[PDF] - Document #2
[PDF] - Document #3
[PDF] - Document #4
[PDF] - Document #5
[PDF] - Document #6
[PDF]
Here’s the relevant stuff:
Points 25-26 in page 124 are of much relevance. Is the US pushing for software patents and patents on life/nature in the UK and Europe as a whole? It certainly seems so. Those parts deal mostly with patent scope. USTR is pushing corporate agenda of Big Pharma and other large multinational monopolists.
“The ‘leaks’ often attributed (in last week’s media reports) to Corbyn were not actually his or his party’s.”Let’s look at what patent maximalists and UPC boosters like AstraZenecaKat aren’t telling us. As we said last week, the United States found itself baffled by UPC moves of the British government and the issue was raised days later by AstraZenecaKat, only to attract a bunch of interesting comments that we quoted here yesterday. Revocator wrote:
I’ve read the papers (well, the IP-relevant bits), and there was one tidbit regarding the US position on the grace period that intrigued me hugely. Namely, the US negotiators appear to have noted that SOME EPO member states do have such a grace period. The British seem to have essentially retorted that those countries may be small and irrelevant enough to get away with that, but that the UK would jeopardize its position within the EPC if it did the same. Now, does anyone know which EPC countries do that (if any)?
On another, entirely different subject, left unmentioned by the IPKat, it comes as no surprise that the US negotiators were particularly insistent in registering their displeasure with the EU’s PGI system…
“Revocator,” MaxDrei replied, “could it be that the USA is eying the 10 year term petty patent/utility model GBM system in Germany, with its 6 month grace period? After all, in the USA they call Registered Design rights “Design Patent” rights so it’a easy for them to suppose that GBM’s are utility patents with a grace period and the EURD is a 25 year patent with a grace period.”
“In summary, the US ‘bullies’ an already-embattled Britain (due to that controversial referendum) into granting the US corporations endless powers, protectionism and codified monopolies.”I’ve quickly read all the above. There’s no need to rephrase things. It’s pretty clear as it is. In summary, the US ‘bullies’ an already-embattled Britain (due to that controversial referendum) into granting the US corporations endless powers, protectionism and codified monopolies. They’re bargain-hunting. This is what happens when one negotiates out of position of considerable weakness. As the old saying goes (or hashtag), “Well Done Brexiters…”
Donald Trump lobbied for Brexit (before and after becoming President, before and after the referendum as well) and now he’s eager to pocket the UK. Media has mostly focused on the US-centric privatisation of the NHS, casting aside almost everything else. █
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