WotC Strikes Again: Patents the CSG

[Ranger REG]

It's not my law - I'm British, and the UK Patents Office has a policy of actually examing patents properly before granting them, and we don't (in principle) give patents for any old rubbish either. The USPTO is notorious worldwide for its lax approach to patent grants, although AFAIK this is a relatively recent development, a result of a policy shift about 20 years ago. It's a bit annoying as in today's globalised environment the devalued US approach to patenting may well force the rest of the world to relax patent standards, this has already happened de facto with software patents to some extent.

The rest of the world? I don't believe China have an intellectual property law and if they do, they hardly enforce on all qualified material distributed inside their country. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But hey, that's what the court system is for, to interpret the law. WotC was awarded the patent but Wizkids challenge that claim. So, let's let the court decide who is right, just as much as YOUR court decided that the author of The Da Vinci Code did not plagiarize someone else's works. (And if you think YOUR court decided wrong, then you change your country's law on IP.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The quote from the article doesn't make this seem to be a cease and desist letter. It's more of a "we expect to have a patent on this, when it goes through expect to negotiate".

And either way works.

If it was a cease & desist letter, its just further evidence in a potential lawsuit.

If its the latter, it will get worked out either by negotiation or lawsuit.

The rest of the world? I don't believe China have an intellectual property law and if they do, they hardly enforce on all qualified material distributed inside their country. Correct me if I'm wrong.

They do have some intellectual property laws, but enforcement is rather arbitrary (and more than likely, linked to a combination of political favoritism and bribery). However, that is beginning to change, since lax enforcement is causing problems in the development of home-grown Chinese IP. It seems the pirates don't seem to care if the IP they infringe upon is American or Chinese. Sometimes, the pirates even operate out of the same factories that produce the licensed materials.

Ditto Russia.

 

[Ranger REG]

They do have some intellectual property laws, but enforcement is rather arbitrary (and more than likely, linked to a combination of political favoritism and bribery).

IOW, arbitrary = selective.

However, that is beginning to change, since lax enforcement is causing problems in the development of home-grown Chinese IP. It seems the pirates don't seem to care if the IP they infringe upon is American or Chinese. Sometimes, the pirates even operate out of the same factories that produce the licensed materials.

Ditto Russia.

Heh. They should have made them privateers and make them attack only foreign IPs.

 

[S'mon]

Heh. They should have made them privateers and make them attack only foreign IPs.

That was the American way!

 

[JDJblatherings]

Read the patent, it is pretty tightly defined. There will be very few if any other products that would or could ever infringe on it.