Re: [dvd-discuss] "back door legislation:" Must Canada extend its patent term ?

From: Eric Eldred <eldred[_at_]eldritchpress.org>
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 18:20:29 -0400


On Sat, Oct 14, 2000 at 11:37:19AM -0500, Timothy Phillips wrote:
> Check out this report from Reuters:
>
> http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/s/20001012/l12537113.html

I heard about U.S. complaints in 1998 but didn't know of this ruling, thanks.

The 20-year term is supposed to start from the date of filing, not the date the patent was granted, as the 17-year term does. Changing the starting date is a hassle retrospectively--it really should be done only prospectively.

In the U.S., pharmaceutical companies have been allowed an extra 5 years--they pay lots of campaign donations. This is a bit ironic, considering that so many U.S. citizens now go to Canada to buy drugs they can't afford here.

Perhaps copyright term is next? Received on Sat Oct 14 2000 - 22:18:40 GMT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Mon Mar 26 2007 - 00:35:41 GMT