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Google's New Patents
- StavrosK 15y agoSomeone on reddit had an interesting idea: What if Google invited people to join them in a big pool of patents? Anyone who signed in would gain use of the pool's patents, but would have to sign all of their patents over to the pool as well. If someone in the pool decided to sue someone outside the pool over a patent, the latter could just join the pool and avoid the lawsuit (since now they own the patent as well). This would probably lead to an equilibrium point where everyone is in the pool, and thus make patents meaningless.
- kyleburton 15y agoCould that be the basis for an IP based startup? Seems like a clever hack of the patent & legal system surrounding patents. Of course once there is 1 of these, there will be copycats - which could lead to a race to capture the largest share of patents. Patent wars indeed.
- alphadogg 15y agoIf the organization that asserted management of the pool did it as a non-profit or not-for-profit, then it could work. Fragmentation and wars occur for power and control.
- StavrosK 15y agoIf there are copycats, you can just join them. It's easy to make one big pool in the end.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- ovi256 15y agoWhat if you genuinely innovate, patent your innovation and hope to exploit your IP ? One or more likely, several, pool members will sue you, force you to join the pool and thus destroy your advantage. If they have an established manufacturing division and supply chain, they can churn out your gadget before you even come up with a name. If your innovation is in any way disruptive to their business model, you'll have plenty of legal broadfires thrown your way just to make you go away.
- Kallikrates 15y agoIf it was truly innovative how would your technology exist in the patent pool?
- ansy 15y agoNothing exists in a vacuum. You will presumably infringe on other patents in the pool for dumb stuff everyone needs like search boxes, buttons, and scroll bars. Put one in the wrong place or put the wrong label on it and you're suddenly infringing on a "one click" patent or something equally asinine.
- wnoise 15y agoIn other words, the current situation.
- dminor 15y ago> One or more likely, several, pool members will sue you, force you to join the pool and thus destroy your advantage. What are they suing you over, if your work is truly "innovative"?
- streptomycin 15y agoA trivial/obvious detail, which unfortunately describes the majority of software patents.
- brlewis 15y agoThe "you" innovates and gets a patent to restrict others from exploiting your innovation. The "pool members" innovate and get patents to restrict "you" from exploiting their innovation. Can you oppose one of these actions but not the other?
- nl 15y agoThat's kinda-sorta-almost the Open Innovation Network (OIN: as mentioned in the linked article): http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/ http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/ Patent pools aren't new - the MPEG LA patent pool (http://www.mpegla.com/main/default.aspx http://www.mpegla.com/main/default.aspx) is one that has gained a lot of attention over the last few years, and they are actively seeking others. MPEG LA is slightly different to OIN because it seeks to raise money for companies in the pool by licencing the patents.
- throwaway32 15y agoUnfortunately this does not address the issue of patent trolls that produce no product except lawsuits, therefore cannot be sued for violating patents and forced to join the pool.
- StavrosK 15y agoAw.
- bostonpete 15y agoI think very few companies (probably including Google) would be willing to join any sort of pool that requires them to sign over all of their patents to the pool.
- StavrosK 15y agoWhy? If you're only using it for defense, there's nothing stopping you.
- bostonpete 15y agoThere's a big difference between saying you plan to only use your patents for defensive purposes and forfeiting all rights to otherwise some time in the future.
- jeangenie 15y agofrom my understanding this is precisely how patent trolls like Intellectual Ventures work
- babebridou 15y agoWith the exception that the pool is essentially made of bogus companies that never produced anything and never will.
- StavrosK 15y agoCan anyone join them, unconditionally? Obviously not.
- yason 15y agoWhat's the FSF copyleft equivalent of patents? Filing a patent and licensing it out to anyone who will agree to not use their patents offensively?