4 ms·
This is comical because you made a rant about the proper use case of patents. Disclosing an idea so people actually learn from it instead of redundant effort.
by cloudjacker 10y ago
This is comical because you made a rant about the proper use case of patents.
Disclosing an idea so people actually learn from it instead of redundant effort. In exchange they get a monopoly on the idea. Your friend was probably all "hey don't tell anybody about my super unique idea until they sign this NDA, I don't want them to steal it. Of course I haven't talked to anybody about the idea or gotten outside input and therefore have no clue if it exists already"
Your friend canned the idea because they were greedy, because they wanted first mover advantage. From your story they didn't even try to contact the patent holder to leverage resources, mind share, and God forbid, a licensing fee!
Don't conflate the problems with the patent system with the actual use case if the patent system.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoYou have some good points but personal attacks at GP's friends were uncalled for.
- cloudjacker 10y agoIt wasn't an attack. I don't consider misunderstanding when to have trade secrets vs outside input, or greed, to be negative traits.
- lordnacho 10y agoIt's more a case of not wanting to get sued than wanting a first mover advantage. The idea was not exactly earth-shattering either. Just another piece of plastic in a certain shape, for a medical use. First mover advantage is a business school trope, not something you should have to consider every time you have some minor invention. And let's not pretend those documents actually disclose anything. They're made for lawyers to read, not engineers.