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Giving Up On Patents

tbray.org

58 pointsbensummers12 comments

Note that the rules are different (and probably less broken) elsewhere in the world. However, the US market has a tendency to affect people outside its borders and force the system on others via treaties.

But right now, one option for non-US software startups is to sell only to Europe and counties with sane patent systems.

"... However, the US market has a tendency to affect people outside its borders and force the system on others via treaties. ..."

That is an understatement ~ "IIPA would rather people "pirate" than switch to legal competitors" ~ http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/5115 The http://www.iipa.com/ represent publishers, music, picture, entertainment software, business software. All American

I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends.

"... I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends. ..."

I always miss this from replies.

What specific rules do you refer to? I'm not under the impression that things have ever been any better elsewhere. Europe does recognize "prior user rights," which is a step in the right direction, but (at least in the UK) it still requires that the prior user have taken a significant step towards commercialization to benefit. I don't think that would really help US software startups.

The rule about not allowing software to be patented?

Another article that recently reaffirmed my distaste for software patents is this article on the future of web video by an x264 developer:

http://x264dev.multimedia.cx/?p=292

In a summarising comment: "The best choice [for web video] will always be a deeply patent-encumbered format until someone gets rid of software patents. There is no other feasible solution."

Patents are so difficult to go with. Some people know they have the best idea ever, spend the 13k to get a patent, and do good on it.

I'm not that confident that I could spend that much money upfront without a guaranteed return (not to mention I don't have that much money).

Also I read lots about patents that are challenged because someone somewhere else thought of it, and wrote it down 6 months before.

provisional patents only cost a couple hundred.

Lawyer costs, though not compulsory, quickly push that up tenfold (we just filed a patent - not for software though)

> I'm not that confident that I could spend that much money upfront without a guaranteed return (not to mention I don't have that much money).

Very few things come with meaningful guarantees, and none of them have decent return. Patents aren't exceptions to that rule.

It's great to know that the he's given up on patents but for once I'd like one of these guys to propose a workable way to actually get rid of them.

I myself have no clue how you could go about it. But saying they have to go without proposing a way to get rid of them doesn't actually help the issue very much.

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