On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 4:27 PM, phil swenson <phil.swen...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think this bit of goodness is the exception, not the rule. > Look at all the patent trolling going on (Lodsys). Look at the > monster patent portfolios being built (Google, Apple, Oracle, > Microsoft, Nortel consortium) to attack and defend. > > At the very least, patent durations are crazy long for software. > 14-20 years depending on circumstances. Definitely, that's one of the things I said in the previous discussions. > Amazon's 1 click patent was > filed in 1997, expires in 2017. Is that sane in any way? Firstly, > that it was awarded in the first place. Secondly - 20 years in > software? > How many times has Amazon made money off this patent from a big court case? Never. How many web sites have a one click purchase link? A lot. > > Oh and I love the latest "tweak" to the patent system. First to file > instead of First to Invent? > > http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-patent-system-to-transform-from-first-to-invent-to-first-to-file-avi-biopharma-and-xoma-look-to-benefit-2012-05-04 > > Patent system rewards the big and the rich, not the independents. Many startups get sold for a lot of money in part thanks to their patent portfolios, so it's not just for the big and rich. I would argue that without patents, you would see a lot less startups being acquired and a company like TiVo might never had emerged and be successful despite its original and disrupting ideas. > The > rich/big co's are the only ones who have the money to file and defend. > > It's a fact that almost every software company violates many patents. > You just don't know it because you'd have to spend tons of time > researching them + there are tons of ridiculous/obvious patents that > you can't help but violate + the act of researching patents makes you > more liable because you "know" about breaking them. > Exactly, all this dark matter ("you don't know how many patents you violate", "look at the portfolio that big companies are amassing", "look at all these trash patents getting filed") says *nothing* about the system. Here are a few criteria by which to measure how well the system works: - How much innovation is happening in the US (a lot). - How much innovation is happening in countries that have none of these laws such as China (none). - How many of these patents actually end up in court (hardly any). - How many of these patents that actually land in court end up with an outrageous verdict (can't even think of one). Anyway, we've had this discussion here many, many times, no point in rehashing it. -- Cédric -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to javaposse@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to javaposse+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
