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They’ve shown nothing to you. That doesn’t mean investors haven’t seen prototypes.
by threeseed 5y ago
They’ve shown nothing to you.
That doesn’t mean investors haven’t seen prototypes.
- moffkalast 5y agoIf they had something substantial it would make sense to patent it, instead of keeping it hidden and the potential for it to be stolen as an option. Either the principle their reactor will work on isn't conceptually done yet or they're being seriously irresponsible with their achievements.
- myownpetard 5y agoI think it's a reasonable assumption that US fusion companies would have the same patent policy as SpaceX. Elon is quoted in HBR, “We have essentially no patents. Our primary long-term competition is China. If we published patents, it would be farcical, because the Chinese would just use them as a recipe book."
- rmbyrro 5y agoOr even the US government. Good luck to SpaceX asking the government to enforce its patents against... the government itself!
- credit_guy 5y agoWait, what? The Government protects you against the Government itself all the time. What exactly is tha Bill of Rights?
- kragen 5y agoThat's the whole point of patents: to be used as a recipe book.
- VintageCool 5y agoThe deal is that you provide the recipe book in exchange for legal protection and a short-term legal monopoly. The other side of that deal is not honored by China, which is Elon's point.
- kragen 5y agoThe legal monopoly (which is the same thing as the legal protection) has always been geographically limited, and has always existed at the pleasure of the government granting it.
- kragen 5y agoPatents usually take a few years to issue. In the US, for the first six months, the patent application is confidential