The author has a mental model of innovation which I don't think is accurate. The patent system helps people look for "open spaces": new ideas, and work in them

The author has a mental model of innovation which I don't think is accurate. The patent system helps people look for "open spaces": new ideas, and work in them. He goes on to say that this eventually fills the space of ideas, pushing to a "paradigm shifting innovation" that "causes the hunt for open space to reset". The problem with this idea of innovation is that it portrays it as a 2D space where no idea can stand on top of any other. His idea of innovation only includes new ideas that forever extend outwards at the same level. There is a third dimension this model does not capture: innovation that builds on top of other ideas. This third-dimension innovation is what is damaged by the current patent system, and why so many software developers feel so strongly against patents. To the author's 2D innovation mental model, open source appears to be retreading the same ground over and over. To software developers, innovation can be seen in the third dimension.