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Re: Wolfe patent on "assert chains"
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 9:47 AM, Daniel Berlin <dberlin@dberlin.org> wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 9:14 AM, Robert Dewar <dewar@adacore.com> wrote:
>> Diego Novillo wrote:
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 04:49, Steven Bosscher <stevenb.gcc@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I wonder if GCC's VRP ASSERT_EXPRs would be considered prior art.
>>>
>>> Even earlier than that. The assertion mechanism in GCC was taken
>>> directly from the PLDI'95 Patterson paper.
>>
>> Does anyone know if inclusion of something in openly available source
>> code has been accepted as proper publication for prior art? (it does
>> not meet the letter, but it does meet the spirit I would say).
>
> The patent examiners i've spoken with in the past (and their
> supervisors) consider publicly available source code to be prior art.
> I am too lazy to search federal circuit case law, but my recollection
> is that their is a case or two on point here saying it is.
> (They read "printed publication" very broadly to include any document
> available to the public)
>
Here you go:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/2100_2128.htm