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Now that Google has sunk $12.5B into the patent system, I fear the fight against software patents has lost it's most powerful ally.
by extension 15y ago
Now that Google has sunk $12.5B into the patent system, I fear the fight against software patents has lost it's most powerful ally.
- joebadmo 15y agoI think it's more the case that Google has to fight both sides of this: acquire patents for defense in the short term, lobby congress for patent reform in the long term. I think long long-term, the friction of the patent system goes against Google's incentives. Google isn't a hardware company (even though they just bought one). They sell search ads, and their complements are hardware, software, everything between consumers and search ads. If patents in general are a tax on innovation, that's bad for Google.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- lurch_mojoff 15y agoI'll believe that Google wants patent reform when I actually see them lobbying for it. For now it's all wishful thinking. Any and all legal expenses and patent royalties in "the short term" would certainly be less than $12B. The Moto Mobility purchase really stinks of long term investment in IP and capitulation before the system.