Comments on: Legal Jargon, Legal Fees, and an Unexpected Summary of my Teaching Philosophy http://www.chinahearsay.com/legal-jargon-legal-fees-and-an-unexpected-summary-of-my-teaching-philosophy/ China law, business and economics commentary Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:49:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Stan http://www.chinahearsay.com/legal-jargon-legal-fees-and-an-unexpected-summary-of-my-teaching-philosophy/comment-page-1/#comment-75445 Stan Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:55:39 +0000 http://www.chinahearsay.com/?p=4139#comment-75445 That's a pretty good example. Patent law is often discussed in more complicated terms than necessary. Easy to get away with, though, because of the whole science/tech overlay. However, in reality, since patent law covers a wide variety of scientific disciplines, any claim that the complexity is due to a common scientific approach or vocabulary makes no sense whatsoever. The difference between disciplines makes that argument laughable. No, it's not a science thing, it's a lawyer thing. Rules, procedures and concepts are inherently "knowable" to anyone who can read (IMHO). With patent law, perhaps only specially-trained folks can read/write a patent application/claim, but anyone can understand patent procedures, concepts of patentability, etc. That’s a pretty good example. Patent law is often discussed in more complicated terms than necessary. Easy to get away with, though, because of the whole science/tech overlay. However, in reality, since patent law covers a wide variety of scientific disciplines, any claim that the complexity is due to a common scientific approach or vocabulary makes no sense whatsoever. The difference between disciplines makes that argument laughable.

No, it’s not a science thing, it’s a lawyer thing. Rules, procedures and concepts are inherently “knowable” to anyone who can read (IMHO). With patent law, perhaps only specially-trained folks can read/write a patent application/claim, but anyone can understand patent procedures, concepts of patentability, etc.

]]> By: Pete http://www.chinahearsay.com/legal-jargon-legal-fees-and-an-unexpected-summary-of-my-teaching-philosophy/comment-page-1/#comment-75444 Pete Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:46:07 +0000 http://www.chinahearsay.com/?p=4139#comment-75444 Outstanding post. In my experience trade mark lawyers are far more open, easier to talk to and write more clearly than patent attorneys/lawyers, who also like to use mind-bogglingly complex language. Often patent work is complex, but the lawyers don't do a good job of making it accessible. This is part of the reason why arguments against software/green/pharma patents get so much traction - the arguments for these patents are rarely well-expressed. Outstanding post. In my experience trade mark lawyers are far more open, easier to talk to and write more clearly than patent attorneys/lawyers, who also like to use mind-bogglingly complex language.

Often patent work is complex, but the lawyers don’t do a good job of making it accessible. This is part of the reason why arguments against software/green/pharma patents get so much traction – the arguments for these patents are rarely well-expressed.

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