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When it comes down to it, patent trolls are only a symptom of the real problem - the fact that far too many obvious patents are granted. If the only patents gra

When it comes down to it, patent trolls are only a symptom of the real problem - the fact that far too many obvious patents are granted. If the only patents granted were ones that companies would be unlikely to come up with of their own accord when they faced a given problem, patent trolls would be substantially less common, and more justifiable.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
AlisdairO 16y ago
Just a modest proposal, as it were. How would HN feel about qualified software engineers (and, indeed, other fields) having to do a service period in the patent office of, say, 3-6 months as the cost of getting their chartership?
shasta 16y ago
Exactly. If it makes business sense to wait for someone to accidentally infringe on your patent, you clearly shouldn't have that patent.
- AlisdairO 16y ago
  Very well put! I shall be snagging that line for future use, if you don't mind.
fmora 16y ago
I used to hate patent trolls. But now I realize that they are actually doing a public good. Basically they are sticking it to the big companies that created this patent mess to begin with. Love it! Karma is a bitch...
- johnm 16y ago
  Um, er, the trolls go after the small fry, too.
  - fmora 16y ago
    True, but how much money can you get out of a small fry 30 million dollar company as opposed to a 30 billion dollar company? It may be that paying 100 million or 500 million dollars for a settlement may not be that much for a 30 billion dollar company but the cost is a lot more than that. They spent several million dollars paying the lawyers and then there is the cost of the distraction. Thrust me, if I'm a patent troll, I rather go after the big fish where the payoff is so big. And the more lawyers and resources they have the more it costs them to defend the lawsuit to the point were it makes more business sense to just settle for several millions of dollars. Otherwise defending the lawsuit would cost them more than the actual settlement amount. Makes a lot more business sense to go after the big boys doesn't it? I love it that the big guys who pushed for the current patent system were too stupid to realize this big flaw in the system.
    - johnm 16y ago
      It's not that simplistic. It's important to go after a mix of companies (of different sizes, strength) so that you can set precedence, get quick settlements (i.e., funding to help playing chicken with the deep pockets), etc.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

AlisdairO 16y ago

Just a modest proposal, as it were. How would HN feel about qualified software engineers (and, indeed, other fields) having to do a service period in the patent office of, say, 3-6 months as the cost of getting their chartership?

shasta 16y ago

Exactly. If it makes business sense to wait for someone to accidentally infringe on your patent, you clearly shouldn't have that patent.

AlisdairO 16y ago
Very well put! I shall be snagging that line for future use, if you don't mind.

fmora 16y ago

I used to hate patent trolls. But now I realize that they are actually doing a public good. Basically they are sticking it to the big companies that created this patent mess to begin with. Love it! Karma is a bitch...

johnm 16y ago
Um, er, the trolls go after the small fry, too.
- fmora 16y ago
  True, but how much money can you get out of a small fry 30 million dollar company as opposed to a 30 billion dollar company? It may be that paying 100 million or 500 million dollars for a settlement may not be that much for a 30 billion dollar company but the cost is a lot more than that. They spent several million dollars paying the lawyers and then there is the cost of the distraction. Thrust me, if I'm a patent troll, I rather go after the big fish where the payoff is so big. And the more lawyers and resources they have the more it costs them to defend the lawsuit to the point were it makes more business sense to just settle for several millions of dollars. Otherwise defending the lawsuit would cost them more than the actual settlement amount. Makes a lot more business sense to go after the big boys doesn't it? I love it that the big guys who pushed for the current patent system were too stupid to realize this big flaw in the system.
  - johnm 16y ago
    It's not that simplistic. It's important to go after a mix of companies (of different sizes, strength) so that you can set precedence, get quick settlements (i.e., funding to help playing chicken with the deep pockets), etc.