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The Ascent of the Patent Troll and the Devastating Consequences for Innovation
- vehementi 14y agoIf the software industry is worth $225B, and patent troll companies had a revenue of ~$30B, does that mean that the patent troll industry is extracting 15%+ of the software industry?
- kevincennis 14y ago"...last August Google spent $12,500,000 on 17,000 patents." That's $735.29 per patent - which I think speaks to the low average quality of the stuff they're buying.
- notaddicted 14y agoIf you're talking about the Motorola acquisition, you (& the source author) need to add three more zeroes on those dollar figures.
- kevincennis 14y agoAhhhhhhhh. That would make a lot more sense.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- neurotech1 14y agoA patent attorney I know put the cost at $10,000 per non-provisional patent, just in fees and legal expenses. Unless its a fire sale, a companies individual patent is usually worth more than that, depending on the value of the underlying IP.
- dustismo 14y agowow, didn't know Scientific American still existed
- zeteo 14y agoThe patent system is an antiquated institution [1] that makes about as much sense in today's context as the poorhouse or the court of Star Chamber. It grants random [2] and vague monopolies that bear no relation to the development effort (if any) and take no consideration of economic harm to competitors and the consumers at large. Whatever little good it once held has long ago been smothered in a complex web of rent-seeking and legalese gotcha. It should just be scrapped altogether at this point (without even considering any immediate replacement). [1] Dating to the 1624 English Statute of Monopolies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Monopolies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Monopolies [2] For a classic example, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Gray#Elisha_Gray_and_the_telephone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Gray#Elisha_Gray_and_the...
- notaddicted 14y agoHere is another example of patent sclerosis: patents used to hinder development of steam engines in the late 1700's: http://mises.org/daily/3280/ http://mises.org/daily/3280/ . Patents have been a hindrance to technology for over 200 years.
- kvb 14y agoPatents undoubtedly hinder the development of certain technologies. They almost surely incentivize the development of other technologies (e.g. drugs, chemical formulations). It is far from clear to me that the complete abolishment of patents would be a net positive development for society.
- zeteo 14y agoTrade secrets go a long way towards covering such cases. Coca Cola is a good example of this working for a very common chemical formulation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula#Physical_security_of_the_secret_recipe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula#Physical_secu...
- kvb 14y ago
- wbharding 14y agoThough I appreciate yet another author shining a light on the woes of the current patent system, I'd appreciate it a lot more if one of these patent stories actually tried to put some energy into explaining what actions concerned people might take to improve the situation. Every single week it seems there is a new story from a reputable source lamenting the many billions that are being extorted by anti-innovation entities. But the conclusion of the story always seems to be: "And that's why it sucks to be in the software business." I'd much rather read "And here is what you can do if reading this made you feel depressed..."
- pdwetz 14y agoI think your best bet is to contact your representatives in the House and Senate and push for change (whether it's an overhaul of the current system or to try to throw it out entirely). It also doesn't hurt to talk to friends and family, particularly if they ask you about it.
- zby 14y agoJoin the Pirate Party of course!
- javajosh 14y agoThis article does a good job of putting this problem into perspective - patent trolls earned $25B last year. That's a good chunk of the entire software industry, and it's a huge problem. The question is, will the America Invents Act fix it? That seems to be the most important question[1]. The thing is that someone, preferably someone really, really famous and respected, should propose something concrete. E.g. I'd like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Larry/Sergey to make a concrete proposal. As for cost, I bet it would be free: what lawyer wouldn't jump at the chance to draft legislation that will be championed by one of these men? [1] http://www.patentspostgrant.com/lang/en/2012/07/patent-troll-business-model-to-change-in-september http://www.patentspostgrant.com/lang/en/2012/07/patent-troll...
- smartician 14y agoFound out today that my employer was hit by a patent troll[1]. "We plan to vigorously defend ourselves." This needs to be solved, quickly. I'm even scared of publishing simple Android apps for fear of becoming a target. [1] http://news.priorsmart.com/metasearch-systems-v-travelzoo-l6Pm/ http://news.priorsmart.com/metasearch-systems-v-travelzoo-l6...
- zby 14y agoThe source article (linked from that one) is very interesting. It makes a very good point about the difference between chemical and pharmaceutical patents and for example software patents - the first ones are indexable and it is easy to find out if you are infringing or if there is something already done that you could license. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2016968 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2016968