4 ms·

Ask HN: Can software patents protect large companies from anti-trust lawsuits?

• billswift 15y ago
  Not likely, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Alcoa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Alcoa
  • deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  • jasondrowley 15y ago
    Interesting. I asked the question with Blackboard Inc. in mind. Their patents effectively give them exclusive rights to make proprietary course and content management software for educational institutions, and they've effectively excluded all for-profit competitors from the market on penalty of lawsuit. I don't know. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that Blackboard is up to something fishy. Your thoughts on the matter? On a related note, you might find Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property [1] informative, if terribly boring. [1] http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/guidelines/0558.htm http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/guidelines/0558.htm