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I"m starting to wonder when, if ever, patents did not hinder technological advancement on the net.
by TeMPOraL 2y ago
I"m starting to wonder when, if ever, patents did not hinder technological advancement on the net.
- kube-system 2y agoWhen the development of the innovation requires a bunch of up-front capital.
- jeroenhd 2y agoVarious improvements to machinery during the industrial revolution were only possible with vast amounts of investment upfront, and the patent system made that possible. You're not going to be building a factory powering steam engine at home, even if you've found a method that will increase its efficiency by a significant margin. Of course, patents are only respected when a country is in the lead. Early America was notorious for espionage and strategically ignoring patents to bolster its own economy, and China doesn't really care about what patents you may have when one of their companies is competing with you.
- hn_throwaway_99 2y agoRelated, a good article on how a contributing factor to the founding of Hollywood as the world's movie capital was due to Thomas Edison's stranglehold on patents: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/03/thomas-edison-the-unintentional-founder-of-hollywood/ https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/03/thomas-edison-th...