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>The only way these patents are going to matter to you is ...if you want financing. The investment community keeps a close eye on patents, because it's a majo
by ergo98 16y ago
>The only way these patents are going to matter to you is
...if you want financing.
The investment community keeps a close eye on patents, because it's a major potential liability.
>Obviously, I don't know if Apple is being defensive or offensive here, but it's pretty difficult to imagine them going from retail hardware company to professional patent troll
It's easy to imagine. Microsoft went through exactly the same metamorphosis. Originally their patents were "defensive" (which is a spurious to start with -- simply documenting making an idea public is just as much of a defense), but as the growth curve started to peak they started looking at that portfolio as a way to assure their continued success, if by less productive means.
- 124816 16y ago> which is a spurious to start with -- simply documenting making an idea public is just as much of a defense The idea behind defensive patents isn't that they defend your use of that idea, but that they defend you from competitors who have patents that might affect you. (Since they hopefully allow you to countersue.)
- tbrownaw 16y agoI thought the "defensive patent" idea was less about "this idea is safe for me to use" and more about Mutually Assured Destruction (which doesn't work against Non Practicing Entities such as your typical patent troll, of course).
- timr 16y ago"...if you want financing." Not really. Patent litigation tends to come out of nowhere. Investors don't know about applicable patents unless the patents are particularly high-profile (like certain video compression patents) -- in which case, they're probably known to everyone in advance, and part of the business plan. I'd wager that most internet startups are violating at least one software patent, but that doesn't stop investment in the slightest. And while you could argue that these patents by Apple poison the well for future iPhone app developers, these particular patents are all extremely similar to popular iPhone apps. If you tried to pitch these ideas to an investor, you'd get laughed out of the room for other reasons.