From: william(at)elan.net
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 3:09 PM
<...>
Another this is that, as has been mentioned, intentional filing of patent
claims that author knows is covered by prior art maybe considered a fraud
(IANAL, so correct me if that is not right). This is something for
authorities to deal with once brought to their attention.
AFAIK, this is not true, but again, IANAL. Among my colleagues that used to
actively patent things, we used to have a running contest for who could find
a patent that claimed the most blatantly obvious "inventions" or methods
that were in common use for decades. There was no shortage of hilarious
entries. Similarly, patents are rejected every day and I've never heard of
anyone losing anything but their application fee and legal costs, no matter
how frivolous the claims. Consult a lawyer if you want a definitive answer.
--
Seth Goodman