You've just mentioned one of the primary purposes of the patent system.
IMHO, the two goals of such a system are to:
1. Protect innovators
2. Record innovation to prevent loss of valuable ideas
With middle length terms you can have those goals met. As you extend
the term of patents, the principles becomes fascist, protecting
government mandated IP monopolies. As you reduce the term of patents,
the protection is removed for the innovator, for he is only allowed to
reap the fruit of his labors a short time before his neighbor is allowed
to copy everything he does, without his development debts. :)
There are similar problems when the scope for which patents can be
awarded and the scope of infringement are enlarged. If the scope of
protection is too small, then adding a hood ornament to the Peterbilt
blueprints in the database would negate any and all claims of
infringement. If the scope of protection is too large, then Scope can
pursue all purveyors of liquids which enter the mouth. As the justice,
legislative and bureaucratic branches of government have distorted the
patent system in an attempt to fit all categories of protection into one
framework, they have undermined many of the original goals.
I think the system is good, but the requirements for innovation have
been so reduced, with requirements for actual invention and implentation
being replaced with patents for generic concepts, such that the patent
database has been flooded with poor quality ideas, and the breadth of
protection afforded patents has undermined all certainty about
non-infringement.
I think that the Founding Fathers set it up well, it will take men of
similar character to put it right again.
-Mark Anderson
Chipset Engineer, Intel Corporation
All statements are personal and do not represent my employer.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Woollard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 5:55 PM
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [ERPS] Has anyone on this list ever built a small (working)
turbo pump?
John Carmack wrote:
> The patent system is broken, and does not foster innovation...
Yeah, pretty much. Richard Stallman isn't very wrong with his views on
patents I think. It's also looking like patents are economically
damaging. Still, it's nice when they actually work- protect a little guy
from a big megacorp; but usually it's the other way around.
Still, it's worth doing the odd patent search, mainly to watch your back
I think. There are some good ideas in the database, and most of them
have expired...
> John Carmack
--
-Ian
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the workers to gather wood,
divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the
vast and endless sea." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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