Jaffe: citation is to avoid infringement [!]

Stumbling around the internet, LBE found that one of his papers in IPT had been cited by none other than Adam B. Jaffe in the book Patents, Citations, and Innovations. Most of the cite was on page 277, which was not included on google book search.

HOWEVER, what was included on page 278 was a classic. Talking about citations in patents to other documents, Jaffe et al. wrote:

strictly legal cites (the patent attorney clouds the picture by acting in a risk-averse manner to avoid any hint of infringement, opting to include a citation even when the inventor doesn't consider it as prior art).

Yes! Professor Jaffe thinks patent attorneys fill up PTO-1449 forms to avoid a hint of INFRINGEMENT! If we cite it, we won't infringe it. Remember that Howard Berman relied on Jaffe to teach him about patents.

Lex Luther, a macaw, renews his challenge to Howard Berman.

See


Lex Luther challenges Howard Berman on patent reform, HR 1908 IPBiz puts its money on the genetic parrot.