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I wonder if Facebook would consider offering rewards for prior art in order to crowdsource a defense. I think that's a fascinating way to locate the needle in t

by bproper 15y ago

I wonder if Facebook would consider offering rewards for prior art in order to crowdsource a defense. I think that's a fascinating way to locate the needle in the haystack. Article One is building a startup around this. Another solution is MSFT, which has a patent sharing agreement in place with Yahoo and a vested interest in Facebook's success. They could certainly lend FB some much needed IP muscle.

dredmorbius 15y ago
The problem with patents is that litigation is extraordinarily expensive. Yahoo are apparently borrowing from IBM's playbook. "We found these ten patents your product/business is infringing, and it would be horrible if something were to happen to it". Note that for the second time, Yahoo are confronting a company immediately prior to going public, during its quiet period. If the ten patents turn out to be of poor quality, a proof which will cost $1-5 million of court and lawyer time, Yahoo will dip into its portfolio and pull out another 10 patents. Rinse, wash, repeat. Eventually (depending on the depth of the portfolio), paying $20-$100 million for the problem to go away begins to make a lot of economic sense. IBM has the largest portfolio of any company (for a time it had a target of $1b in annual licensing revenue, though as I understand it's pulled back somewhat from this objective), and can play the game very effectively. Even if the patents themselves are bullshit. What's curious here is Yahoo's positioning. They're not making themselves any friends, and are possibly hurting themselves in front of at least two potentially interested parties (FB & MSFT). I see implosion in the cards. Maybe Aol. wants to buy them....