Senators offer sweeping patent system changes

TalkBack 6 of 44:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

patent the wheel, patent fire, first thing you know, its time to retire

Lets not get all worked up about "unfair" patents and patent trolls, especially if one has never actually invented anything within the modern American business culture. The idea of actually rewarding someone (an individual inventor) for his/her insights and cleverness is long gone. Corporations simply WILL NOT deal with outside individuals holding valuable patents or pay them royalties. Reverse-engineering is the preferred strategy. Furthermore, in-house technical staff is routinely stripped of all patent rights as a condition of employment.

What we have now is a system whereby various well-established corporations hold most all the patents with market value...value that was once earmarked for individual inventors. The corporations prefer it this way since they can (and do) bargain with each other over access to the patented technologies. There are cross-licensing agreements and other arrangements that typically permit the big players to get what they want.

Yes, on occasion a fight breaks out, the dispute ends up in court, and we are treated to a timeworn melodrama (dutifully reported by the trade press) about how "innovation is being blocked" by a broken patent system.

What is really broken is the method for transferring at least some financial reward to the person or persons directly responsible for the creative insight that made the patent possible in the first place.

REPAIR HINT: American business needs far fewer administrators, accountants, lawyers, CEOs, marketing managers, salesmen, and all varieties of other overcompensated hangers-on who consider it their birthright to reward themselves at the expense of technologists. Does the proposed legislation deal with this? I don't think so.

If the big boys go for "first to file" as opposed to "first to invent," independent inventors beware!

Posted by: dmennie   Posted on: 08/08/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now
• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now