Posted by: Edward Macnaghten
on July 20, 2004 11:34 AM
Please correct me if this is not the case in the US.
IANAL - but I am pretty sure it is not the case in neither US nor Europe.
Patents last their term regardless if you protect it or not - assuming it does not get invalidated due to a "prior art" claim - which is very unlikely to happen once it has been granted (unfortunately).
You lose Trademarks if you do not protect them.
Europe currently has the advantage that US style software patents have yet to be implemented (you can get them, but you cannot enforce them). However, the pro-patent lobby here (Microsoft etc) is working hard at getting them implemented, and we are battling here to try and stop that happening. Hopefully the majority of legislators here will see sense....
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Re:The Patent War
Posted by: Edward Macnaghten on July 20, 2004 11:34 AMIANAL - but I am pretty sure it is not the case in neither US nor Europe.
Patents last their term regardless if you protect it or not - assuming it does not get invalidated due to a "prior art" claim - which is very unlikely to happen once it has been granted (unfortunately).
You lose Trademarks if you do not protect them.
Europe currently has the advantage that US style software patents have yet to be implemented (you can get them, but you cannot enforce them). However, the pro-patent lobby here (Microsoft etc) is working hard at getting them implemented, and we are battling here to try and stop that happening. Hopefully the majority of legislators here will see sense....
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