Jerry,

I never stated that in Germany they don't look for prior art. I said that in Germany the first to patent rule applies. In other words the only prior art they look for are those that are patented before ours. Also, in Germany their laws and guide lines are different than ours. For instance concerning obviousness they are not affected by KSR decision as we are which makes it more difficult to pass a re-exam in this country. Another point is that our patent in Germany is dated at 1989. They did not break our patent into seven different patents as in the U.S. The only prior art they are interested in then is previous to 1989 and only that which has been patented. Our 336 in the U.S. is dated at 1995. But our examiners can go back much further for prior art since the first to patent rule does not apply they can look at published documents, college thesis papers, article in magazines anything and everything that is an idea, not necessarily a patent, that pertains to our patent. This is much more stringent a process.

Prior art definition:

PRIOR ART (PATENT - Novelty and nonobviousness are judged against everything publicly known before the invention, as shown in earlier patents and other published material. This body of public knowledge is called "prior art."

http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/p081.htm