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If its a minor UI feature, you can just change it. And if you haven't made any money off of it then they will not get much in damages. The big worry is if you

If its a minor UI feature, you can just change it. And if you haven't made any money off of it then they will not get much in damages. The big worry is if you'd made tons of money off of it or if it is a big part of your program. And the way patent litigation typically works in the US it will be small companies suing large companies. So you can sue Google or MS for using your great idea. Rarely will they sue you. You generally need to be on their radar for this to happen, which usually means being a threat to one of their businesses. At this point, moving anywhere over this is crazy premature.

pgroves 16y ago
I disagree that it's only big companies you need to worry about. There was recently a thread here on HN[1] about an open source flight plan project shutting down after being threatened by legal action from a small company that provided a similar service (and had some patents around it). But regardless of the specific probabilities of any one startup getting sued, I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way. It's like a landmine in the middle of a football field. I probably won't be the one who loses a leg but it's enough of a threat to think about seeing if there's a better field to play on. [1]http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2007899 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2007899
- kenjackson 16y ago
  I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way. This will happen to you in any country in the world. Money runs governments. If there's an influential company (and your not) that wants you out of the game, you have a tough road ahead anywhere.

pgroves 16y ago

I disagree that it's only big companies you need to worry about. There was recently a thread here on HN[1] about an open source flight plan project shutting down after being threatened by legal action from a small company that provided a similar service (and had some patents around it). But regardless of the specific probabilities of any one startup getting sued, I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way. It's like a landmine in the middle of a football field. I probably won't be the one who loses a leg but it's enough of a threat to think about seeing if there's a better field to play on. [1]http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2007899 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2007899

kenjackson 16y ago
I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way. This will happen to you in any country in the world. Money runs governments. If there's an influential company (and your not) that wants you out of the game, you have a tough road ahead anywhere.