IP protection on formats?

[AES]

Anyone want to set forth a little tutorial on available forms of IP
protection for formats? --- meaning IP protection against the use of a
format itself (like PDF, JPEG, Word.doc, TeX syntax), as contrasted to
IP protections for software that may create or read the formats.

Can a format itself be directly protected -- can the owner or developer
of a format forbid anyone else to use that format, even if this user
takes an openly available specification of the format, or reverse
engineers it, and writes completely new software to generate or read
files written in that format?

Or can the original owner or developer only protect the _name_ of the
format? -- meaning that others can't put out slightly modified versions
of the format, and call them by the same name?

Or . . . ???

[This query arises only from general curiosity and intellectual interest
-- no specific case or situation in mind.]

[Barry Margolin]

In article <siegman-5E8C44...@nntp.stanford.edu>,
AES <sie...@stanford.edu> wrote:

IANAL, but I think the only real way to protect formats all by
themselves is as a trade secret. But this doesn't protect against
reverse engineering.

In practice, what is often done is to patent the methods used to create
and/or read the format. This should only be valid if the methods are
not obvious from the description of the format. An example of this is
the original LZ compression format -- it's not just a format, it's the
result of a compression algorithm, and this algorithm was patented.

--
Barry Margolin, bar...@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***

[Regis]

On Apr 24, 4:00 am, Barry Margolin <bar...@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> In article <siegman-5E8C44.08373523042...@nntp.stanford.edu>,

> *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

For the PCT
http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/pdf/ispe.pdf
Read 5.26-5.27 about product by process claims.

For the EPO
http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponet.nsf/0/4C0AAA2182E5D2F2C125736700567D71/$File/guidelines_2007_part_C_en.pdf
Read C-III 4.12 about product by process claims.

Hope this helps ;-)

[Peter Sint]

In article
<6af66106-c6c5-4581...@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,

Regis <quel...@netscape.net> wrote:
> On Apr 24, 4:00 am, Barry Margolin <bar...@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> > In article <siegman-5E8C44.08373523042...@nntp.stanford.edu>,

> >...

> For the PCT
> http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/pdf/ispe.pdf
> Read 5.26-5.27 about product by process claims.
>
> For the EPO
> http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponet.nsf/0/4C0AAA2182E5D2F2C125736

> 700567D71/$File/guidelines 2007 part C en.pdf

> Read C-III 4.12 about product by process claims.

http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/guidelines.html
(from here the pdf)
or directly
http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/html/guiex/e/foreword.htm
http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/html/guiex/e/c_iii_4_12.htm

> Hope this helps ;-)