3 ms·

Yes, the patent system has problems. But waging a personal vendetta against the person's hobbies is petty. Sounds like he had the money to pursue this well bef

Yes, the patent system has problems. But waging a personal vendetta against the person's hobbies is petty. Sounds like he had the money to pursue this well before his patent business, as he was CTO of Microsoft....so that point it just mud-smearing.

pc86 6y ago
It seems less "waging a personal vendetta against the person's hobbies" and more "acknowledging that this is an amoral human being who is perpetuating a broken system for personal gain."
- coldtea 6y ago
  >acknowledging that this is an amoral human being Morality play, much? People are nuanced, not just "moral vs amoral"... Intellectual Ventures exploits the market for inventions and patents, buying patents from companies and inventors under the assumption the patents will be more valuable in the future. (...) Startup companies spun out of IV, including Kymeta, Echodyne, and TerraPower, have developed commercial products from IV's inventions. Through its Global Good unit, which Myhrvold founded in collaboration with Bill Gates, IV has also invented and produced commercial products, such as improved vaccine coolers and milking cans, aimed at low-income markets in Africa and Asia. The company's business practices have caused controversy, however, with some deprecating the firm as a patent troll. Myhrvold has publicly defended his firm's practices, arguing that they foster innovation by serving as a marketplace for intellectual property. He has noted that many of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Apple, and Facebook, have also bought large patent portfolios and used litigation to protect them, but he has criticized them as focusing too much on creating "tools or toys for rich people." Myhrvold is vice chairman of TerraPower, a spin-out of Intellectual Ventures that is developing a new kind of nuclear reactor, known as a traveling-wave reactor, that is designed to be safer, cheaper, and cleaner than current nuclear power plants.
- ozim 6y ago
  That is kind of interesting cognitive dissonance for me. Cannot be mad at the guy because he is spending that money on making pictures of snowflakes not on hookers and coke. On the other hand that is quite true in terms of perpetuating a broken system. Well might be that he just takes advantage of a broken system but he did not bribe politicians and did other shady stuff.
ashtonkem 6y ago
That’s not at all what they said. Read again.

pc86 6y ago

It seems less "waging a personal vendetta against the person's hobbies" and more "acknowledging that this is an amoral human being who is perpetuating a broken system for personal gain."

coldtea 6y ago
>acknowledging that this is an amoral human being Morality play, much? People are nuanced, not just "moral vs amoral"... Intellectual Ventures exploits the market for inventions and patents, buying patents from companies and inventors under the assumption the patents will be more valuable in the future. (...) Startup companies spun out of IV, including Kymeta, Echodyne, and TerraPower, have developed commercial products from IV's inventions. Through its Global Good unit, which Myhrvold founded in collaboration with Bill Gates, IV has also invented and produced commercial products, such as improved vaccine coolers and milking cans, aimed at low-income markets in Africa and Asia. The company's business practices have caused controversy, however, with some deprecating the firm as a patent troll. Myhrvold has publicly defended his firm's practices, arguing that they foster innovation by serving as a marketplace for intellectual property. He has noted that many of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Apple, and Facebook, have also bought large patent portfolios and used litigation to protect them, but he has criticized them as focusing too much on creating "tools or toys for rich people." Myhrvold is vice chairman of TerraPower, a spin-out of Intellectual Ventures that is developing a new kind of nuclear reactor, known as a traveling-wave reactor, that is designed to be safer, cheaper, and cleaner than current nuclear power plants.
ozim 6y ago
That is kind of interesting cognitive dissonance for me. Cannot be mad at the guy because he is spending that money on making pictures of snowflakes not on hookers and coke. On the other hand that is quite true in terms of perpetuating a broken system. Well might be that he just takes advantage of a broken system but he did not bribe politicians and did other shady stuff.

ashtonkem 6y ago

That’s not at all what they said. Read again.