[Openicc] CxF and open source (non?) compatibility

[Graeme Gill]

Bob Friesenhahn wrote:

> The above is not really true.  The USA has trade agreements with many 
> other countries and these mutual agreements usually include a commitment 
> to enforcing the patents and copyrights of the other party. This is a 
> major purpose for trade agreements (the other is tariff control/reduction).

Enforcing, is not the same as registering. An FTA doesn't
(usually) remove the requirements that patents be
registered in each country, it usually just harmonize
various aspects of the copyright and patent systems.
Copyrights generally exist by default, but patents
need to be registered, and if a patent isn't registered
in a country, it can't be enforced.

The US Australia FTA for instance, amended the grounds
on which a (Australian) patents could be opposed and those
upon which it could be revoked, and added a provision
for a patent term to be extended by the amount there
had been unreasonable delays in it's approval. This
helped harmonize it with the way US patents work.

But no, an FTA doesn't extend the reach of US patents,
patents still have to be registered in each country.
Even filing an international patent application doesn't
remove the need to then proceed through the registration
process in each country individually.

Graeme Gill.