Unfortunately I wasnt "playing" although I will claim ignorance not
stupidity.
I realize the USPTO and some other patent-granting agencies blacklist IP
addresses that download "excessive" numbers of patents, in order to conserve
limited bandwith. Sales of large datasets of patents may be an important
revenue source as well, but that doesn't sound as good. :-) I don't know
how the program works, but as long as it makes the originating IP address of
the abuser visible to the USPTO, they shouldn't have a problem with Mr.
Ujihara or his program.
On the other hand, in a world where people (and even government housing
authorities) sue gun manufacturers for the actions of murderers, perhaps Mr.
Ujihara does need to cover his a-- in such a way. But although I'm not a
legal expert and certainly not a licensed attorney, one would think that a
log of who has been downloading how many patents could just as easily
increase his liability for such a lawsuit, as decrease it.
--David Shobe
Süd-Chemie Inc.
phone (502) 634-7409
fax (502) 634-7724
email dshobe@sud-chemieinc.com
Don't bother flaming me: I'm behind a firewall.
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Oppedahl [mailto:carl@oppedahl.com]
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 9:30 AM
To: Shobe, Dave; 'Ujihara, Kazuya'; 'Michael ENGEL'
Cc: 'PIUG'
Subject: RE: FW: A reminder about GetIPDL
At 06:57 AM 7/26/2002, Shobe, Dave wrote:
>A clarification may be in order.
>
>When I saw the phrase "indiscriminate downloading" I thought it meant
>downloading of the program. It is not uncommon for writers of free
software
>to want to keep track of, and have some control of, its distribution and
how
>it is used.
>
>However, Michael gives another interpretation, that "indiscriminate
>downloading" refers to indiscriminate downloading of patents from web
sites.
>
>
>Which is correct? Mr. Ujihara, can you comment?
Sorry to interject, but I hope nobody is playing dumb about what this
really means.
Surely everyone on this list is well aware that the patent offices of the world that provide online patent images each have terms of service that
forbid massive downloads by any particular user. The patent offices feel that their servers are intended for use by individuals who are downloading limited numbers of patents for their own use. The patent offices feel that users who download images for resale to others, or who download significant portions of the database (e.g. all patents in a given year) should obtain the images by other means such as purchasing CD-ROMs of the
images. Somebody quoted the USPTO policy on this point, for example, the other day in this list.
Mr. Ujihara, the author of GetIPDL, is quite understandably concerned that if he gives away his software, that some user might abuse the software so badly (by downloading far too many patent images) that some patent office might decide to block all future use of GetIPDL at that patent
office. This would harm all the other users of GetIPDL. This is why the software contains numerous warnings to users that they should not abuse the patent office image servers by downloading too many images.
Mr. Ujihara is providing this software free of charge. If you don't like the software, I suggest you ask for your money back and stop using it.
Meanwhile, it is my opinion that we who are all the beneficiaries of the
patent office servers that provide free patent images should all be
grateful to Mr. Ujihara who has clearly tried to minimize the risk that
some user of his software might spoil things for the rest of us.
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