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I wish to echo Claude's point that a re-examination, if done, should be done in a scrupulously open fashion. If I understand the "normal" PTO re-examination procedure correctly (<dcl>I am not a lawyer</dcl>), it involves only representatives of the PTO and of the patent holder. This seems an obviously partial procedure, since the PTO has an interest in supporting its own prior decisions, and the patent holder has an interest in maintaining its patent's validity. This problem is compounded by the fact that such a re-examination lends a (potentially spurious) sense of strengthened validity that could adversely affect any later evaluations. So, I suggest the following: Either Sun do a simple "dedication to public domain" as someone suggested (this would surely be cheaper than spending another couple hours' of Sun attorneys' time), or ensure that a re-examination be, as Clause suggested, include a significant set of neutral third party experts. Surely several such can be found on this list; assuming people consider me reasonably neutral, I would be willing to help without fee (so long as the time didn't get excessive). -- Steven_DeRose@B...; http://www.stg.brown.edu/~sjd Chief Scientist, Brown Univ. Scholarly Technology Group
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