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Can someone explain to me why the former CTO of Microsoft, a person I assume was quite wealthy already, would become an infamous patent troll? Is he just tradi
by jonahx 13y ago
Can someone explain to me why the former CTO of Microsoft, a person I assume was quite wealthy already, would become an infamous patent troll? Is he just trading his reputation and karma for.... an even bigger pile of money? Maybe I'm naive, but that seems bizarre.
- wmf 13y agoHere's a totally speculative hypothesis: He started IV as a sort of Xerox PARC that would also make money; the idea was to hire really smart researchers, advance the state of the art, and license the results to other companies to productize. This didn't work (perhaps the research was low-value because it was disconnected from the needs of the market, or perhaps technology transfer is really hard) and rather than admit defeat they pivoted into patent trolling.
- jonahx 13y agoThanks, this seems plausible. Is it possible that they've actually convinced themselves they are doing something justifiable with their own IP? I'd find that hard to believe, but who knows?
- wmf 13y agoI've noticed that there are definitely people who think ideas — even unimplemented ones — are valuable IP and patents are a reasonable way to monetize ideas. It's sometimes expressed as a business model for those who can't afford to execute their ideas. I guess the line between that philosophy and patent trolling is when the inventor starts going after companies that independently reinvented their idea.