4 ms·

Giving Up On Patents

58 points by bensummers 17y ago

Roridge 17y ago
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.
- nazgulnarsil 17y ago
  provisional patents only cost a couple hundred.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Lawyer costs, though not compulsory, quickly push that up tenfold (we just filed a patent - not for software though)
- anamax 17y ago
  > 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.
bensummers 17y ago
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.
- bootload 17y ago
  "... 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 http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/5115 The http://www.iipa.com/ http://www.iipa.com/ represent publishers, music, picture, entertainment software, business software. All American
  - bensummers 17y ago
    I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends.
    - bootload 17y ago
      "... I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends. ..." I always miss this from replies.
- muerdeme 17y ago
  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.
  - bensummers 17y ago
    The rule about not allowing software to be patented?
mryall 17y ago
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 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."
zaphar 17y ago
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.

58 points by bensummers 17y ago

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.

nazgulnarsil 17y ago
provisional patents only cost a couple hundred.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  Lawyer costs, though not compulsory, quickly push that up tenfold (we just filed a patent - not for software though)
anamax 17y ago
> 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.

bensummers 17y ago

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.

bootload 17y ago
"... 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 http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/5115 The http://www.iipa.com/ http://www.iipa.com/ represent publishers, music, picture, entertainment software, business software. All American
- bensummers 17y ago
  I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends.
  - bootload 17y ago
    "... I was trying to be polite about our colonial friends. ..." I always miss this from replies.
muerdeme 17y ago
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.
- bensummers 17y ago
  The rule about not allowing software to be patented?

mryall 17y ago

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 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."

zaphar 17y ago

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.