Hi.
Susan Cullen writes:
>One certainly has to wonder how the PTO would go about qualifying its
>searching contractors. Given the current climate, could it be the low
>bidder?
An interesting thought. Would the cost of a private search be effectively
fixed by the patent office? The industry would certainly rear
up and howl at that notion.
Apart from the USPTO internal changes presented in Lucys post,
I wonder about how the issue of licensure is viewed by this
community. On the one hand, it can be a great selling point
for individual researchers or small businesses, and bring
a recognized standard to the field. On the other hand, the
cynical side of me thinks that this might just turn into a bludgeon
used by the larger firms to beat back the entrepreneurs and
consolidate the industry.
Keith Nagel
www.kpnconsulting.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information contained in this email is confidential and intended
only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader
of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified
that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication
is strictly prohibited. Thomson Scientific will accept no responsibility
or liability in respect to this email other than to the addressee. If you
have received this communication in error, please notify us
immediately via email: postmaster@derwent.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Feb 14 2003 - 11:57:11 GMT