3 ms·

The fact that companies have created software, patented it, and sued large companies that use their technology gives me pause. Without software patents the sof

The fact that companies have created software, patented it, and sued large companies that use their technology gives me pause. Without software patents the software industry will become like the consumer products industry where inventors are ripped off by large corporations. I think the VC's who are pushing this have an agenda.

ecaron 16y ago
If this was what was happening in the majority of cases, I would agree. But it isn't - big companies frequently buy patents just to go after and shut-down/settle with smaller companies who are posing a threat. Like Apple against HTC. Like Microsoft against Salesforce.com. If there was a shorter life span, or stronger enforcement over patent squatting, fewer people would be standing against it. But saying the VCs pushing this have an agenda, without citing a single source, and thinking that patents do anything now other than pay lawyers and slow innovation, is narrow-minded.
- atomical 16y ago
  The majority of cases that you read on Tech Crunch?
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Let me be clear. You think Microsoft has sued more companies than smaller companies have sued Microsoft? Wow, that's some serious revisionist history. Just in the past two years MS has been sued by at least seven companies -- and I don't recall any of them being trolls.
  - patrickaljord 16y ago
    MS doesn't need to sue, they just do intimidation and forces small companies to pay them licenses, taxing all their competitors. I'll let you google the glory details. Also, when MS sue a company for a patent on the FAT file system, that's because they refused to pay them royalties/licenses unlike the 100 more companies they secretly threatened before them.
kjrose 16y ago
Software is easily copied and manipulated enough that small businesses which are flexible and innovative will remain competitive against larger businesses which may steal some of their ideas. The only real concern to me is that smaller businesses don't have the sales and marketing team as the larger companies. Right now, large businesses can flatten smaller businesses (See MS vFAT decision) if they even remotely become competitive through patent lawsuits. It is very rare to happen in the reverse.

ecaron 16y ago

If this was what was happening in the majority of cases, I would agree. But it isn't - big companies frequently buy patents just to go after and shut-down/settle with smaller companies who are posing a threat. Like Apple against HTC. Like Microsoft against Salesforce.com. If there was a shorter life span, or stronger enforcement over patent squatting, fewer people would be standing against it. But saying the VCs pushing this have an agenda, without citing a single source, and thinking that patents do anything now other than pay lawyers and slow innovation, is narrow-minded.

atomical 16y ago
The majority of cases that you read on Tech Crunch?
kenjackson 16y ago
Let me be clear. You think Microsoft has sued more companies than smaller companies have sued Microsoft? Wow, that's some serious revisionist history. Just in the past two years MS has been sued by at least seven companies -- and I don't recall any of them being trolls.
- patrickaljord 16y ago
  MS doesn't need to sue, they just do intimidation and forces small companies to pay them licenses, taxing all their competitors. I'll let you google the glory details. Also, when MS sue a company for a patent on the FAT file system, that's because they refused to pay them royalties/licenses unlike the 100 more companies they secretly threatened before them.

kjrose 16y ago

Software is easily copied and manipulated enough that small businesses which are flexible and innovative will remain competitive against larger businesses which may steal some of their ideas. The only real concern to me is that smaller businesses don't have the sales and marketing team as the larger companies. Right now, large businesses can flatten smaller businesses (See MS vFAT decision) if they even remotely become competitive through patent lawsuits. It is very rare to happen in the reverse.