"[...] However, in their enthusiasm to clamp down on counterfeiters, governments do need to be careful to avoid turning patent infringement into a crime. People who infringe patents are not normally involved in a deliberate attempt to mislead the public or to sell them sub-standard goods. Criminalising patent infringement can stifle innovation as it increases the penalties and risk for business if it misjudges the very complex and technical issues as to whether patent infringement has occurred or not. Trying civil patent actions in the UK has always been restricted to a handful of specialised and highly skilled judges and, even then, there is disagreement on patent infringement issues. It therefore appears very probable that giving this topic to lay magistrates and juries with no experience in this field is likely to prove very costly and create massive uncertainty. [...]"
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Dipl.-Phys. Axel H Horns is Patentanwalt (German Patent Attorney),
European Patent Attorney as well as European Trade Mark Attorney. In particular, he is Member of: