[okfn-coord] [Fwd: Re: Touching base] -- meeting with patent office

Wed Jul 12 14:30:57 UTC 2006

Saul Albert wrote:
> hi Rufus,
> 
> This looks promising! I have no idea what the scene in the Patent office
> is, but this kind of pro-active contact is extremely encouraging.

Yes it is (I was surprised). Duncan is someone I've met at WIPO several 
times but we've haven't exactly 'hit if off'.

> What do you think the 'dossier owners' agendas are? Perhaps I'm missing

Well they will be pretty pro-patent/pro-copyright (e.g. PO were pushing 
the council version of the CII directive -- aka software patents directive).

> something.. why should this be confidential too... ? Just because it's a
> new and untested contact?

Exactly. Also because one wants to avoid counter-lobbying -- 
okfn-discuss is fully googalable and so if someone, say from Microsoft 
or the BPI, saw that I was going off to have informal chats at the UKPO 
they might start objecting behind the scenes. Furthermore, in my 
experience, a person such as this would expect everything he wrote to me 
to be kept non-public unless I had asked his permission.

> Anyway - it would be interesting to find out more about these people..

Yes which is why I'll definitely try to go down there.

~rufus

> On Tue, Jul 11, 2006 at 11:53:32AM +0100, Rufus Pollock wrote:
> 
>>Please keep this confidential.
>>
>>~rufus
>>
>>-------- Original Message --------
>>Subject: [Fwd: Re: Touching base]
>>Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:49:28 +0100
>>From: Duncan Wearmouth <Duncan.Wearmouth at patent.gov.uk>
>>To: Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org>
>>
>>Rufus,
>>
>>Thanks.  I did get it, but have been out and about so unable to
>>co-ordinate with colleagues and hence the delay.  All of the copyright
>>team is now based in Newport, South Wales.  I'm afraid I will miss the
>>IPPR event this friday as I'm off to Helsinki tomorrow for the Finnish
>>Presidency event on Copyright & Content Policy.  On getting together,
>>excluding patents and limiting to Copyright sounds sensible, but as you
>>say, a broad area. Although you have seen some of my team in passing at
>>WIPO (Ceri & Michele) and you may have dealt with Janette McNeill in the
>>past when she was working on CII, I wondered whether there would be a
>>more fruitful discussion if you met us all rather than just me.  We
>>wouldn't need to narrow the discussion then and it would of course set
>>us up for more specific dialogue on issues which could be taken forward
>>by the particular dossier owners in my team.  How do you fancy visiting
>>Newport?  I'm happy to pay the travel costs.  How are you fixed for last
>>week of July/first week of August?
>>
>>Kind regards
>>
>>Duncan
>>
>>PS You may already be aware, but I was told last week that the
>>additional session of the SCCR is pencilled in for September 11- 13 (Mon
>>- Wed)
>>
>>Duncan Wearmouth
>>Director of Copyright & Enforcement
>>Intellectual Property & Innovation Directorate
>>The Patent Office
>>Tel: 01633 813782
>>Fax: 01633 814817
>>Email: duncan.wearmouth at patent.gov.uk
>>
>>
>>>>>Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> 11/07/2006 11:35 >>>
>>
>>Dear Duncan,
>>
>>Not sure this email got through so I'm just resending to make sure
>>you've got it.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Rufus
>>
>>-------- Original Message --------
>>Subject: Re: Touching base
>>Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:26:41 +0100
>>From: Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org>
>>To: Duncan Wearmouth <Duncan.Wearmouth at patent.gov.uk>
>>References: <s4a3f256.042 at pdd04.patent.gov.uk>
>>
>>Dear Duncan,
>>
>>You did have an email address, unfortunately it was one that got so
>>spammed that I had to shut it down. In any case I would be very happy
>>to
>>meet up. I am based in Cambridge but down in London on a semi-regular
>>basis -- for example I will down monday and friday next week. Where
>>are
>>you located and would either London or Cambridge be convenient? In
>>terms
>>of focusing the discussion for a start we could exclude all
>>patent-related issues. Of course this still leaves a wide field and
>>I'm
>>very happy to narrow this further.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Rufus Pollock
>>
>>Duncan Wearmouth wrote:
>>
>>>Rufus,
>>>
>>>Not sure that I'd got the correct email address in the attached...
>>
>>you
>>
>>>wear so many hats!  Would like to touch base with you some time
>>
>>though.
>>
>>>Kind regards
>>>
>>>Duncan
>>>
>>>Duncan Wearmouth
>>>Director of Copyright & Enforcement
>>>Intellectual Property & Innovation Directorate
>>>The Patent Office
>>>Tel: 01633 813782
>>>Fax: 01633 814817
>>>Email: duncan.wearmouth at patent.gov.uk 
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Duncan Wearmouth originally wrote on 26/05/2006:
>>
>>>Rufus,
>>>
>>>Just finished reading your paper on "The value of the Public Domain".
>>
>>>I found it thought provoking and it then made me think that we
>>
>>always
>>
>>>seem to be only having snatched brief conversations in the coffee
>>
>>breaks
>>
>>>or margins of meetings.  If you are happy to do so, I would like to
>>
>>meet
>>
>>>up for a general meeting where we could have a more purposeful
>>>discussion.  Happy to speak about any issue, but given the breadth
>>
>>of
>>
>>>stuff you are involved in, it would be helpful for me if we could
>>
>>agree
>>
>>>a few areas up front.
>>>
>>>Could you let me no your availability for the last week of June
>>
>>onwards
>>
>>>- I'm on leave now until the 19th June.
>>>
>>>Kind regards
>>>
>>>Duncan
>>>
>>>Duncan Wearmouth
>>>Deputy Director
>>>Head of Europe, Copyright,
>>>Trade Marks & Design Policy
>>>Intellectual Property & Innovation Directorate
>>>The Patent Office
>>>Tel: 01633 813782
>>>Fax: 01633 814817
>>>Email: duncan.wearmouth at patent.gov.uk 
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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> 
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