4 ms·

I think that this takes the "nuclear bombs" metaphor for patents to the extreme: once one party begins using them, everybody begins tossing them around. But I

I think that this takes the "nuclear bombs" metaphor for patents to the extreme: once one party begins using them, everybody begins tossing them around. But I think that the more these lawsuits show up, the clearer becomes that patents are really against innovation, so in the end it could be a good thing for those hoping in a patent laws reform.

rbanffy 17y ago
Apple once persuaded the Department of Commerce to go after a Brazilian company that had a clean-room (software and hardware) Mac compatible (in 85 or so). After threats of commercial sanctions, the Brazilian government caved in and revoked the company's license to manufacture the machine (computer manufacturing was heavily regulated in Brazil at that time) after a very protracted and atypical approval process. There is little doubt it was revoked because of external pressure. In the end, only a few prototypes were made. A friend of mine has one: http://chester.blog.br/mac512.html http://chester.blog.br/mac512.html It's easy to imagine Apple pulling the same strings again.
praptak 17y ago
I don't think much will change until a huge company loses to an obvious patent troll.
- staunch 17y ago
  That happens quite regularly I think. I know Microsoft has paid out many times. The most horrible example is probably related to IE plugins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eolas#Litigation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eolas#Litigation
  - praptak 17y ago
    Yes indeed - I should have written "loses big".
    - DeusExMachina 17y ago
      They could also be not so big losses, but many of them. Companies need to become strongly intertwined, having to pay a lot of other companies for everything they make. They need to be ensnared by a lot of legal laces, unable to move. Then they will try to cut these laces. And these laces are patent laws.
    - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
      "loses more than they gain in controlling the market and shutting out competition from new entrants with their own patents"
- bmelton 17y ago
  I admittedly wasn't following it at the time, but isn't that basically exactly what happened to RIM regarding push email?
  - cakesy 17y ago
    $615.5 million, is that big enough? That was a huge settlement.

rbanffy 17y ago

Apple once persuaded the Department of Commerce to go after a Brazilian company that had a clean-room (software and hardware) Mac compatible (in 85 or so). After threats of commercial sanctions, the Brazilian government caved in and revoked the company's license to manufacture the machine (computer manufacturing was heavily regulated in Brazil at that time) after a very protracted and atypical approval process. There is little doubt it was revoked because of external pressure. In the end, only a few prototypes were made. A friend of mine has one: http://chester.blog.br/mac512.html http://chester.blog.br/mac512.html It's easy to imagine Apple pulling the same strings again.

praptak 17y ago

I don't think much will change until a huge company loses to an obvious patent troll.

staunch 17y ago
That happens quite regularly I think. I know Microsoft has paid out many times. The most horrible example is probably related to IE plugins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eolas#Litigation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eolas#Litigation
- praptak 17y ago
  Yes indeed - I should have written "loses big".
  - DeusExMachina 17y ago
    They could also be not so big losses, but many of them. Companies need to become strongly intertwined, having to pay a lot of other companies for everything they make. They need to be ensnared by a lot of legal laces, unable to move. Then they will try to cut these laces. And these laces are patent laws.
  - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
    "loses more than they gain in controlling the market and shutting out competition from new entrants with their own patents"
bmelton 17y ago
I admittedly wasn't following it at the time, but isn't that basically exactly what happened to RIM regarding push email?
- cakesy 17y ago
  $615.5 million, is that big enough? That was a huge settlement.