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"Google strikes first but Microsoft wins." Somehow I've got the feeling everybody is going to win. Google made the patent problem very public. This spark might

by tintin 15y ago

"Google strikes first but Microsoft wins." Somehow I've got the feeling everybody is going to win. Google made the patent problem very public. This spark might light the fire of a revolution.

euroclydon 15y ago
Remember when there was talk about Obama modifying the terms of underwater mortgage holders, but it was illegal? My non-lawyer opinion is that's what we'll see with patents -- future software patents may become difficult to obtain, but existing ones will have to be litigated individually.
napierzaza 15y ago
Stop dreaming. Read Googles blog post. Google wants to be secure by buying up patents and over turn the Nortel patent sale. They are just whining that they don't have a toy too. Nobody is talking about overthrowing the patent system except for maybe people on HN. Google very seriously wants to be a player in this and have a patent portfolio. Read their blog post's last paragraph.
- tintin 15y ago
  "We’re also looking at other ways to reduce the anti-competitive threats against Android by strengthening our own patent portfolio." I think you misunderstood the last paragraph. They want to challenge competition by innovation not by a patent war. Google's patent portfolio is there to protect them against unfair competition. "Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it."
  - alanh 15y ago
    /tintin ascribes benevolent self-disinterested intentions to Google’s legal team, and innovation in mobile to the biggest copycat in the space
    - waqf 15y ago
      In tech, innovation and copying are two sides of the same coin. It's really hard to build something better than what's on the market if you're not allowed to start from what's already there.
- kabdib 15y ago
  > Nobody is talking about overthrowing the patent system except for maybe people on HN Everyone I know /patent lawyers included/ has said that the system is broken. It's a cold war; everyone's got to have nukes, just in case the other guy uses them. Then some upstart like PRNK, ahem I mean /Lodsys/, comes along, lobs one into someone's applecart, and suddenly ICBMs are flying everywhere. What we have here, gentlemen, is a mind shaft gap.
  - lanstein 15y ago
    Assume you mean DPRK?

by tintin 15y ago

"Google strikes first but Microsoft wins." Somehow I've got the feeling everybody is going to win. Google made the patent problem very public. This spark might light the fire of a revolution.

euroclydon 15y ago

Remember when there was talk about Obama modifying the terms of underwater mortgage holders, but it was illegal? My non-lawyer opinion is that's what we'll see with patents -- future software patents may become difficult to obtain, but existing ones will have to be litigated individually.

napierzaza 15y ago

Stop dreaming. Read Googles blog post. Google wants to be secure by buying up patents and over turn the Nortel patent sale. They are just whining that they don't have a toy too. Nobody is talking about overthrowing the patent system except for maybe people on HN. Google very seriously wants to be a player in this and have a patent portfolio. Read their blog post's last paragraph.

tintin 15y ago
"We’re also looking at other ways to reduce the anti-competitive threats against Android by strengthening our own patent portfolio." I think you misunderstood the last paragraph. They want to challenge competition by innovation not by a patent war. Google's patent portfolio is there to protect them against unfair competition. "Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it."
- alanh 15y ago
  /tintin ascribes benevolent self-disinterested intentions to Google’s legal team, and innovation in mobile to the biggest copycat in the space
  - waqf 15y ago
    In tech, innovation and copying are two sides of the same coin. It's really hard to build something better than what's on the market if you're not allowed to start from what's already there.
kabdib 15y ago
> Nobody is talking about overthrowing the patent system except for maybe people on HN Everyone I know /patent lawyers included/ has said that the system is broken. It's a cold war; everyone's got to have nukes, just in case the other guy uses them. Then some upstart like PRNK, ahem I mean /Lodsys/, comes along, lobs one into someone's applecart, and suddenly ICBMs are flying everywhere. What we have here, gentlemen, is a mind shaft gap.
- lanstein 15y ago
  Assume you mean DPRK?