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It's time to get rid of the whole patent system... | by skyfloater | 2007-05-18 00:06:58 |
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Reform, yes. Get rid of? No. | by admeralthrawn | 2007-05-18 00:27:25 |
| would be nice, but... |
by skyfloater |
2007-05-18 00:54:21 |
I'm not sure how long any reform would last. I agree, there are legitimate patents out there, but they are by far outnumbered by either too obvious or too general, too fuzzy patents. Instead of fuelling innovation and protecting small inventors, they are abused by large companies with well-paid lawyers to prevent any sort of innovation that might endanger their business. Good for capitalists, bad for mankind. Right now, there is only one version of each idea, and nobody else is allowed to improve it, or come up with something new.
I guess the only reform that would work is to critically reassess all granted patents, throw out the silly and too general ones, and then make sure that the patent office a) knows their stuff b) does not accept anything short of genius c) put controls in place that stop a weakening of the system.
I do agree with you that it's mainly a problem with software patents, but I've also seen a few in electronics that weren't much more original. Also, in these fast moving areas, I think patents shouldn't last longer than 3-5 years. The development is way too fast to be slowed down by patents from decades ago. |
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