Aren't Patents a Great Idea?

[Phanerothyme]

Except you can't, because your invention is probably already covered by somebody else's generic patent on something that they never invented. So you'll have to collect royalties for them.

 

Exactly

 

 

Welcome to the EU. What did you expect from an organisation so corrupt its own accounts have never been signed off by it's auditors?

 

Whatever the nature of the organisation, it would still have enforced the patent. Apple would have to file country by country if there was no EU, but I don't think that would have stopped them.

 

I just want to meet the person that awarded the patent, and change his mind (by hitting it with a brick, although I am not unkind).

 

There was the famous incident of the man who applied for a patent for a "cat-exerciser" which amounted to, essentially, a laser pointer. He got the patent.

 

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5443036.pdf

[anywebsite]

It's partly Google's fault for being naive too, they know the game, they have the money, but they didn't build up their own arsenal of patents to use defensively. They treated the recent Nortel patent auction as a joke, that let Apple & Microsoft buy Nortel's patents between them. So they've left a lot of Android device manufacturers unable to defend themselves from these attacks.

[Swampster]

Star Trek needs to tell Apple to GTFO!!

 

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070304233839/memoryalpha/en/images/c/c3/Sarah_Sisko_reconstruction.jpg

[NorthernStar]

Perhaps the system needs looking at, this patent is as the op says is far too generic and allows far too much in the way of monopoly for this already bloated and greedy organisation to take advantage of.

 

At the other end of the scale I read just recently about the guy who invented superglue and never saw a penny for his invention that also angered me.

 

It's a shame that there aren't laws based on judgements of morality and common decency to deal with the kinds of things that companies do that I'm sure most people on a moral level believe are just wrong.

[NorthernStar]

Star Trek needs to tell Apple to GTFO!!

 

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070304233839/memoryalpha/en/images/c/c3/Sarah_Sisko_reconstruction.jpg

 

:thumbsup:How true:thumbsup:

[Swampster]

I also believe if a company with a ton of patents folds.. their patents should not be able to be bought as commodities to use as weapons, such as the recent Nortel buy-ups.

 

Along with this you can add companies (usually a bunch of money grubbing lawyers) that don't ever intend on making a damned thing, they just buy up patents (especially software) to screw other companies over, should be outlawed.

[anywebsite]

There is a good idea at the heart of the patent system, otherwise you end up with companies or inventors keeping inventions secret instead. The invention can die with the inventor.

 

A patent should make a novel invention public knowledge, in return for the government protecting the inventor's right to a monopoly on their invention for a short period.

 

That system has been totally corrupted, patents last for too long, they're granted too freely, they cost too much in legal fees to defend for anybody but an already rich mega-corp.

 

Apple have managed to get a patent on all tablet computers issued about 20 years after somebody else invented them. Now a court has upheld it & banned shipments of their rival's tablet into the eu. It's ridiculous.

 

Based on the fact that they can't change the system & they know how it works, Google should buy & create lots of patents too. It could use them to defend themselves & their customers from attacks like this from rivals. It's an effective barrier to entry into the technology industry & they've ignored it, pretended it doesn't exist because they don't agree with it. Red Hat seem to be handling the patent situation the best, imo Google should take a copy of their patent policy - http://www.redhat.com/legal/patent_policy.html

[Tyranna]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/apples-eu-legal-win-could-prevent-all-oems-from-building-tablets/14175?tag=nl.e550

 

Apple has successfully obtained an injunction against the sale of the Samsung tablet computer in the EU, citing its existing tablet patent.

 

You need to check the link to see just how generic the patent is.

 

This method of protecting IP is corrupt, ramshackle and no longer fit for purpose. It's one of many like that, but this example is especially egregious.

 

I am one budding inventor who has become exasperated with the current patent system. It is nothing but a shabby racket which extorts money from the hard-up inventor to have endless 'patent searches' conducted, and to keep paying 'protection money' in order to prevent YOUR ORIGINAL IDEA from 'lapsing'.

I would say, ABOLISH THE PATENT SYSTEM ALTOGETHER, and simply use COPYRIGHT LAW (in the form of 'Design Copyright') to protect ALL physical, chemical, biological, software inventions from now on.

As a writer of poems/novels which I am working on, I am able to protect my written work with my copyright at no charge; same with musicians, so WHY shouldnt it be any different for 'inventions'?

[Mecky]

I invented the tablet years ago

[Saffy]

I love apple