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A bubble waiting to burst

The problem of speculation is that by granting software patents which are mostly not being used as a property right (not going to court) but which are being as proof for financial deals, we're moving to a situation where one day there will be companies failing and then they'll start looking for what money their patents can get them. This could aggravate the patent troll problem if failing software companies look to outsource the monetising of their patents to "experts".

(Can someone check if I've understood this: In the USA, a Federal Circuit court confirmed that when a patent is used to secure a loan, and the loan goes unpaid, the transfer of a patent by foreclosure does indeed allow the new owner to enforce the patent.[1])

Microsoft against speculators

In the 2009 i4i v. Microsoft court case, the Microsoft lawyers compared i4i inc. to the banks asking for bailouts.[2]

Andy Grove

(See also: Andy Grove on software patents)

David Martin

(See also: David Martin on software patents)

Basel II

Basel II is not directly interesting, but it sets (or might set) some rules for evaluating things such as patents, so it may be of interest for some very specific issues.

External links

References


Why abolish software patents
Why abolish software patents Why focus only on software · Why software is different · Software patent quality worse than all other fields · Harm caused by all types of patents
Legal arguments Software is math · Software is too abstract · Software does not make a computer a new machine · Harming freedom of expression · Blocking useful freedoms
High costs Costly legal costs · Cost of the patent system to governments · Cost barrier to market entry · Cost of defending yourself against patent litigation
Impact on society Restricting freedom Harm without litigation or direct threats · Free software projects harmed by software patents · More than patent trolls · More than innovation · Slow process creates uncertainty
Preventing progress Software relies on incremental development · Software progress happens without patents · Reducing innovation and research · Software development is low risk · Reducing job security · Harming education · Harming standards and compatibility
Disrupting the economy Used for sabotage · Controlling entire markets · Breaking common software distribution models · Blocking competing software · Harming smaller businesses · Harming all types of businesses · A bubble waiting to burst
Problems of the legal system Problems in law Clogging up the legal system · Disclosure is useless · Software patents are unreadable · Publishing information is made dangerous · Twenty year protection is too long
Problems in litigation Patent trolls · Patent ambush · Invalid patents remain unchallenged · Infringement is unavoidable · Inequality between small and large patent holders