2 ms·
I am a cofounder of a small company that has a patented process for removing oil spills. We are not in the green yet but the only reason we could hold out again
by haxeny1 11y ago
I am a cofounder of a small company that has a patented process for removing oil spills. We are not in the green yet but the only reason we could hold out against the big oil companies in the face of any attempt to take over our technology was the patent. Patents are not the best option, but for truly innovative approaches to problems an inventor has very few options.
The above patent in the OP is egregious, and I can't really support it.
To your point, innovation may happen, but the inventor may not get compensated along the way. Patents try to bridge the gap. They are not perfect, but they do seem to work, in my opinion.
- math 11y agoTwo points here: 1. I'm more inclined to judge a policy by the net benefits to society rather than specific participants in it. 2. I actually think the patent system favors large enterprise more often than it does small companies. For a number of reasons. One of them being so much is patented you need a large portfolio of covering things your competitors are probably infringing on as a deterrent from them suing you or counter attack if they do. etc. As a small player, you can't do this. Your example is perhaps one of how the system was envisaged to work - though I'd be interested to know how you go if ever you needed to finance legal proceedings against a big corporate.