[Fwd: Re: [Melbourne-pm] Talks for our next meeting]

David Dick david_dick at iprimus.com.au
Wed Mar 30 00:16:10 PST 2005


Well, i went to a recent lecture on the patent situation in europe at 
the moment (mentioned in luv-talk) and one of the speakers was Peter 
Eckersley from Department of Computer Science & IP Research Institute of 
Australia at The University of Melbourne.  Both the speakers that night 
gave lectures to an audience comprising of geeks, business types and 
patent attorneys without touching off a riot, which i thought was quite 
impressive. :)

Another possibility was the patent attorneys at the lecture seemed quite 
eager to talk to the geeks present, including following us out and 
receiving an ear-bashing for about half an hour.  Perhaps they might 
want the chance to talk about patents as well?  The bloke i was chatting 
to was from FB Rice & Co (www.fbrice.com.au).

I know next to zero about oz patents/etc so i thought it might be useful 
if we just invited one or both of types of people in to give a "just the 
facts" type talk.

For example, for both oz and possibly O/S as well,

Why do we have patents?
What are the alternatives to patents?
What is patentable?
Broad overview of procedures involved in filing a patent and defending 
yourself against frivolous patent claims?
How are businesses using patents/copyright/etc in oz at the moment?
Are the FTA's that oz is signing with China/US/etc making any impacts on 
patent/copyright law?

Jacinta Richardson wrote:
> 
> David Dick wrote:
> 
>> well, i'd be interested to know what people feel about the idea of 
>> getting an expert in australian patent/copyright/etc law to give a 
>> talk. Maybe an idea for an osdc nite?
> 
> 
> I think it's an excellent idea for an osdc night.  It'll certainly be a 
> non-Perl
> specific topic.  Do you have anyone in mind?
> 
> All the best,
> 
>     Jacinta
> 


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