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1) the average person seems to be beginning to doubt the value of IP laws
2) companies are finding that litigating these issues is not necessarily
resulting in clear cut benefits (especially regarding costs).
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Gith, I agree with #2, but not in the way that you probably mean. If you've been
following the patent fun in high tech, such as the Amazon 1-Click patent, or the
little war that is probably going on between Adobe and Macromedia, you'll see
what I mean. Many
patents get issued without adequate knowledge on the part of the Patent Office.
Many companies pursue patents only in order to damage their competition. Is it
any wonder that Adobe attacks Macromedia on the display of tabbed panels on a
screen, for example, but not Apple computer, which has been using tabbed panels
for years in its operating system?
One trick is to review the patents belonging to your competition and then
patenting every possible method that would contain the competitors ability to
express any real use of their original patent (so, aha! you've patented the use
of tanks to hold water! heh-heh, Ive patented the use of the faucet!)
You might want to check out BountyQuest.com, which places a financial reward for
those who can demonstrate "prior art" to wipe out a particular patent.
As for #1, "average people" want what ever they can get for the cheapest price,
or free. They love Napster. But before Napster, it was still not legal to make
copies of CDs for you pals. The average person knew that, they just dont like
it.
The average person doesnt mind jacking the value off of a CD, but they would
question having to produce and give away CDs (hard, physical objects) for free,
especially if they had to do the work and take the loss themselves.
Dont mistake the desires of the average person for a competitive marketplace --
they arent the same thing.
--Lynn
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