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An interesting view that I got from someone who patents technologies working at a big company, was that software patents tend to protect yourself (the company)
by xtacy 15y ago
An interesting view that I got from someone who patents technologies working at a big company, was that software patents tend to protect yourself (the company) from getting sued by other patent trolls!
- azakai 15y agoNo, software patents cannot protect you from patent trolls. Patent trolls by definition do not produce any actual products. They only sue. Any patents you have are therefore no defense against them. A worrying development is trolling by proxy - a real company selling its patents to a patent troll. This allows the real company to extort money through its patents, without the risk of a countersuit, since the patent troll is doing the actual suing.
- keypusher 15y agoI believe he is talking about the kind of mutually assured destruction that keep companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and IBM from suing each other. They all hold a ton of patents, and while they may infringe on each others patents from time to time, they keep it to a minimum and nobody pursues it due to the possibility of retaliatory patent action where both parties lose. Much like the Cold War.
- azakai 15y agoYes, perhaps that's what he meant, and he said "patent trolls" by mistake. In any case, that is not really a case of patents being put to good use. They might help you specifically, as a defensive measure, but only because of all the bad uses of patents overall.
- xtacy 15y agoYes, that's what I meant, and I used the wrong term. :) I agree; it merely illustrates the flaws in the system that we have.