9 Dec
2004
9 Dec
'04
3 p.m.
Pedro Lozano wrote:
Thats the problem with sw patents, having to worry
about all these legal
things, working around patents, finding prior art, etc etc I don't
thinks that's any good for a programmer or a small company.
Fully agreed on this one...
An example (fictional):
I start a new company and I invent some new method of storing or
representing data (or anything) and I patent it.
Then afther some weeks or months I see IBM or MS using my method in
their products.
Either the idea is new and original enough that they can't reproduce it
without reading the patent, in which case it's wilful infringement,
triple damages, and a good lawyer will probably take your case... or
it's obvious or in some way possible for more than one person to come up
with the idea independently, in which case you don't really deserve the
patent on it in the first place.
If someone can come up with the same storage technique as you have used,
simply by hearing about your software or having to solve the same
problems themselves, then the patent should be invalidated, if it was
even possible to be granted it in the first place.
Founding an entire business model that's based on other people not
knowing what you know is a recipe for disaster, imho.