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You're assuming that once you have a patent, you're protected. When in fact, you still need capital to defend your patent in litigation. It's turtles all the wa
by _vvhw 5y ago
You're assuming that once you have a patent, you're protected. When in fact, you still need capital to defend your patent in litigation. It's turtles all the way down.
- reedjosh 5y agoBeatiful comment.
- unityByFreedom 5y agoThat's better than no protection at all. If you have something really innovative you might be able to get a loan to protect it, or sell or lease it to companies that would help defend it.
- _vvhw 5y agoThe reality is that in software, relative to the vast armada of the patent thicket that could be employed against you, a single patent affords little protection.
- unityByFreedom 5y agoLike elsewhere [1], this thread's context was discussing the usefulness of all patents, and you are talking about software patents. I gather most people in this forum agree that software patents are no good. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29115767 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29115767
- _vvhw 5y agoI believe the patent thicket argument holds and has merit, whether you restrict the context to software patents or enlarge the context to most industries. Let's also not forget the broader context here, which is software patents.
- redwall_hp 5y agoAnd it turns out, oops, your thing infringes upon 62 other patents that another company happens to hold. You can either desist or have a nice cross-licensing deal where they get to use your patent for free in exchange for now suing you.
- aranchelk 5y agoThis comment is both true and not. Absolutely right that you can’t count on a patent to magically protect you without litigating (or at least credibly threatening to). It’s not true that you will always need to put up the money yourself. If the patent is sufficiently valuable you can enter into joint ventures, or contingency agreements to have someone else bankroll the fight. Having a large company infringe on a patent also makes it a desirable purchase for any other company with a bone to pick with the infringer.
- _vvhw 5y agoAnd now everybody is distracted, when they could be innovating software. "It’s not true that you will always need to put up the money yourself." I don't believe this was my argument. I simply said "capital".
- aranchelk 5y agoBy “turtles all the way down” I understood you to be saying it’s an endless (or hopeless) process for a small inventor to make use of the patent system. I don’t believe this is accurate.