In more recent developments, New Zealand opposition MP Clare Curran has reported on the Labour Party blog Red Alert that NZ Commerce Minister Simon Power has twice publicly indicated that the government would support the computer program exclusion, but that "backroom lobbying by the organisation [NZICT] that includes major software patenters has resulted in the Ministry of Economic Development backing away from the Commerce Committee’s recommendation and instead redrafting the Bill along the lines of the European Convention."
This sounds like a step in the right direction, although as we noted earlier we would foresee some difficulties in importing European law into the very different New Zealand Patents Bill.
In other developments, we are aware that both the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys and the Institute of Patent and Trademark Attorneys of Australia have written to the New Zealand Commerce Minister expressing the profession's concerns about the proposed exclusion and the manner of its introduction.
We will continue to keep an eye on further developments.
Before You Go…
Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful. Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.
But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour. If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research. My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection. But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me. If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.
The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months. No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar. You might even find it to be fun!
There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net. In particular, you can read:
- a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
- instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.
Thank you for considering this request!
Mark Summerfield
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