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This is why, as an employee, you shouldn't buy a company's line on defensive patenting. Heartfelt as it may be, if the company's financials ever go sufficiently

This is why, as an employee, you shouldn't buy a company's line on defensive patenting. Heartfelt as it may be, if the company's financials ever go sufficiently south, none of that will count for anything, least of all in the event of outright bankruptcy when vultures come to pick apart the corpse. This argument applies with proportionately greater force to businesses whose survival odds are slim. Like startups.

danielweber 14y ago
Why do you say "as an employee"? I understand the rest of your comment without that clause.
- psykotic 14y ago
  Because a dilemma often faced by programmers is that their employers want to patent their ideas for defensive reasons. It's a situation in which you as an employee might have leverage, so your stance isn't mere armchair ideology.
robrenaud 14y ago
Do you think that twitter's innovators patent agreement fails at addressing your concerns about defensive patents? > The Innovators Patent Agreement (IPA) is a new way to do patent assignment that keeps control in the hands of engineers and designers. It is a commitment from a company to its employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. The company will not use the patents in offensive litigation without the permission of the inventors. This control flows with the patents, so if the company sells the patents to others, the assignee can only use the patents as the inventor intended. And the agreement text: https://github.com/twitter/innovators-patent-agreement/blob/master/innovators-patent-agreement.md https://github.com/twitter/innovators-patent-agreement/blob/...
- psykotic 14y ago
  That looks like a great initiative! My biggest concern is how individual employees are supposed to enforce this kind of agreement if the patent owner reneges. A random programmer is not going to have the financial means or a strong enough incentive to pursue violations.

danielweber 14y ago

Why do you say "as an employee"? I understand the rest of your comment without that clause.

psykotic 14y ago
Because a dilemma often faced by programmers is that their employers want to patent their ideas for defensive reasons. It's a situation in which you as an employee might have leverage, so your stance isn't mere armchair ideology.

robrenaud 14y ago

Do you think that twitter's innovators patent agreement fails at addressing your concerns about defensive patents? > The Innovators Patent Agreement (IPA) is a new way to do patent assignment that keeps control in the hands of engineers and designers. It is a commitment from a company to its employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. The company will not use the patents in offensive litigation without the permission of the inventors. This control flows with the patents, so if the company sells the patents to others, the assignee can only use the patents as the inventor intended. And the agreement text: https://github.com/twitter/innovators-patent-agreement/blob/master/innovators-patent-agreement.md https://github.com/twitter/innovators-patent-agreement/blob/...

psykotic 14y ago
That looks like a great initiative! My biggest concern is how individual employees are supposed to enforce this kind of agreement if the patent owner reneges. A random programmer is not going to have the financial means or a strong enough incentive to pursue violations.