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Software patents are the real problem here. The tech giants have locked competitors out of using their technology using government patents. Amazon held a paten

Software patents are the real problem here. The tech giants have locked competitors out of using their technology using government patents. Amazon held a patent on "1-click checkout" from 1997-2017. Google has patented ALL of the good web search algorithms. https://qz.com/1057490/a-patent-that-helped-amazon-take-over-online-commerce-is-about-to-expire/ https://qz.com/1057490/a-patent-that-helped-amazon-take-over... http://searchengineland.com/google-granted-patent-for-panda-algorithm-187573 http://searchengineland.com/google-granted-patent-for-panda-... We as a society to move past patent regulations, they are artifacts of the industrial revolution and are abused by powerful corporations. Without a team of lawyers, a simple website will be sued out of existance.

plandis 9y ago
Agreed. I also don't think that's the fault of any patent holder though. If you're running a business and you have a way to get a legal monopoly why wouldn't you? If you don't there is a chance you competitor will get that patent or one similar enough.
NickNaraghi 9y ago
While I agree with you about patents being the problem, I'm not sure that moving past patents entirely is the solution. Can you think of a better way to fairly incentivize and compensate innovators while solving the problem at hand?
- majewsky 9y ago
  I think the main problem with patents is their duration. 20 years is absurdly long for the software space. It may be justified for physical objects since making a hardware patent into a marketable product usually requires more investment and time to get to market (e.g. to design and build a factory producing the product), but in software, a 20-year-old product is usually already on display in some museum. If I had to make a change to software patents right now, I would shorten them to five years. Maybe less.

plandis 9y ago

Agreed. I also don't think that's the fault of any patent holder though. If you're running a business and you have a way to get a legal monopoly why wouldn't you? If you don't there is a chance you competitor will get that patent or one similar enough.

NickNaraghi 9y ago

While I agree with you about patents being the problem, I'm not sure that moving past patents entirely is the solution. Can you think of a better way to fairly incentivize and compensate innovators while solving the problem at hand?

majewsky 9y ago
I think the main problem with patents is their duration. 20 years is absurdly long for the software space. It may be justified for physical objects since making a hardware patent into a marketable product usually requires more investment and time to get to market (e.g. to design and build a factory producing the product), but in software, a 20-year-old product is usually already on display in some museum. If I had to make a change to software patents right now, I would shorten them to five years. Maybe less.