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> 2) Patents enable business models that separate design from production. ARM and MIPS, for example, design chips incorporated into designs from myriad manufact
by slrz 8y ago
> 2) Patents enable business models that separate design from production. ARM and MIPS, for example, design chips incorporated into designs from myriad manufacturers.
Their designs are already protected by copyright, though.
- rayiner 8y agoThat only protects against literal copying. That’s useful where the expensive part of your R&D is laying out the gates, but not if the expensive part is figuring out how the gates should be laid out to achieve particular results.
- gowld 8y agoIf that were true, then no one would file patents for 36 years, they'd just enjoy copyright protection or 150 years.