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"rewarding the first person to write them down is counterproductive." One of the reasons why IP came to be was to incentivize people to publish details of thei
by inglor_cz 4y ago
"rewarding the first person to write them down is counterproductive."
One of the reasons why IP came to be was to incentivize people to publish details of their inventions, instead of trying to keep them secret.
Not everyone did (famously, WD-40 formula is still a trade secret), but most innovators did, and other people could inspire themselves from such published works. Sometimes in areas that didn't infringe on the original patents.
A public knowledge whose use is artificially restricted by law probably still beats a culture of secrecy.
- ghayes 4y agoSure, but then we get to the issue of rounded corners. Whether or not the idea is novel and should be patentable, the publication of the patent provides no specific value to society.
- Dylan16807 4y ago> rounded corners That's a design patent, which is just a misleading name for something close to a trademark.