The Lawyer Twists the Main Point (Score 1)

What is disturbing is that the Patent Guy apparently thinks we'll fall for Lawyer Tricks.

Example: Tim makes the point that 8 out of 10 patents are known within the Industry as obvious or already-invented. Then he makes the point that engineers in companies are encouraged not to look for prior art.

The Patent Guy twists these two points so they sound like they contradict each other. If everyone already knows about the prior art, why would engineers have to look? And why wouldn't they just report it?

This is so sadly naive, as well as deceptive. Engineers in a company would not do well to report prior art. Sure, jobs are plentiful -- but who wants to be a whistle-blower? I'll move on when it's time to move on, not because I want to take some sort of moral stand that gets me fired. That isn't obvious to Dickenson?

The real point is the obfuscation, though. 8 out of 10 patents are known by many people in the industry as obvious or already-invented. This doesn't mean the engineers at the company know this! It just means there are people in our community who know -- AND THEY ARE NEVER ASKED. THAT is Tim's point.

I'm a little disappointed that Tim didn't get to make this point. Tim's a great spokesman for us on this issue, and I appreciate his efforts. But I think he's a better writer than he is a speaker. Maybe he should stick to written debates.