> Because software companies have shown repeatedly that it's possible to bring something innovative to market for much less than $1M, That wasn't the question,

> Because software companies have shown repeatedly that it's possible to bring something innovative to market for much less than $1M, That wasn't the question, and isn't relevant unless you're claiming (1) that all software costs less than $1M or (2) you'll allow software patents for things that cost more than $1M to produce. The first is clearly false while the second doesn't make sense. > Manufacturing and marketing a new physical device Ah yes, marketing. Are you claiming that software is inherently inexpensive to market? If so, you just told me that you think everything is web-based eye candy. Enterprise doesn't work that way, neither does medical, and so on. > I think it is fair to say that producing a software widget will almost always involve less initial overhead than a hardware widget, especially at market scale). But, is the difference significant compared to the other costs? (Having been involved in both, I think that the difference is a lot smaller than is required for your argument.) Thank you for your comments.