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Presumably there are parts which are patented and public (how the vaccine works in principle), and then there are parts which are not patented but a trade secre
by DangerousPie 5y ago
Presumably there are parts which are patented and public (how the vaccine works in principle), and then there are parts which are not patented but a trade secret (how to actually manufacture it at scale). This kind of thing is very common.
- flyinghamster 5y agoI've seen this thing in other areas too. One particular radio telemetry system has all sorts of patents surrounding it dating to the 1980s, all of which leave out critical details of the system.
- clairity 5y agonot just common, but encouraged by the regulatory and competitive environment. big companies like ibm offer patent bounties, so employees are incentivized to break improvements up into the smallest possible elements that will pass muster with the patent office so that they can maximize the amount of bounty granted per advancement. similarly, companies like to lay minefields of patents around any given technology so that if they’re the market leader, they can slow down competition, but if they don’t have the winning version, they’re at least likely to get some royalties for the patents they have. it’s perverse.