5 ms·

Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll. They shouldn't even exist. Laws must ban those organizations that merely collect patents and waiting to sue people. Cre

Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll. They shouldn't even exist. Laws must ban those organizations that merely collect patents and waiting to sue people. Creativity killing machines!!

vonklaus 12y ago
It really isn't that simple. Inventors need a way to protect their ideas. I think we need to come up with heuristics for lawsuits involving patent infringement like: Companies can only sue for a percentage of the revenue they themselves generated from sale of the product related to the patent. There is no great way to do it. It infringes on an inventors rights to sell their creation which i beleive deeply. However, these fucking patent trolls need to be stopped.
- eru 12y ago
  > Inventors need a way to protect their ideas. Or you could negate that premise?
- tolmasky 12y ago
  > Companies can only sue for a percentage of the revenue they themselves generated from sale of the product related to the patent. This would nullify one of the original purposes of the patent: to protect "the little guy" who had his idea stolen. If you come up with a great idea, start to market it, then immediately get it ripped off by a huge corporation that then is only ever on the hook for the tiny amount you managed to make before they stole it, then the "protection" evaporates. Of course, I don't believe patents should really exist at all (I think there are much better models of protection that don't involve such a clearly exploitable mechanism), but just want to show any time you talk about "fixing" the patent system while still keeping it, most good intentioned solutions quickly end up being more complex than initially thought.
Apofis 12y ago
The worst part is it somehow started out as a patent PROTECTION organization and then somehow morphed into a patent troll. Absolutely ridiculous.
- zachrose 12y ago
  I believe it works both ways. If you're a small upstart company with novel tech and BIGCO gets you on the ropes with claims of patent infringement, you can buy protection from IV and in turn they'll provide you with patents from their arsenal so you can countersue BIGCO and settle on better terms. http://www.intellectualventures.com/news/press-releases/dashwire-becomes-intellectual-ventures-customer-and-gains-patents-for-defen/ http://www.intellectualventures.com/news/press-releases/dash... http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110801006668/en/Dashwire-Settles-Patent-Infringement-Lawsuit-Synchronoss-Technologies#.VNl6h7DF9sA http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110801006668/en/Dash...
- kragen 12y ago
  IIRC, IV was never a patent protection organization. That was just their PR story so they could grow. The idea was always that you would pay them to license their pool of patents.
WildUtah 12y ago
Anyone who invents something and then patents and licenses it without owning the factory is a patent troll the way you're defining it. The problem is that the patents modern trolls abuse are garbage patents that don't promote innovation. Some are overbroad or obvious. Most are directed to math and computer software, a field totally incompatible with the patent system. Over 90% of programmers with an opinion prefer only copyright and trademarks to apply to computer software. The patent lawyers were thirsty to bleed software companies dry and pushed their system where it isn't wanted and now we have to suffer the consequences of having little influence in Washington to defend ourselves.
- throwawaykf05 12y ago
  >Over 90% of programmers with an opinion prefer only copyright and trademarks to apply to computer software. Actually, no, only 15% of programmers think that way. Source: same as yours, only I look beyond any particular echo chamber :-)

Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll. They shouldn't even exist. Laws must ban those organizations that merely collect patents and waiting to sue people. Creativity killing machines!!

vonklaus 12y ago

It really isn't that simple. Inventors need a way to protect their ideas. I think we need to come up with heuristics for lawsuits involving patent infringement like: Companies can only sue for a percentage of the revenue they themselves generated from sale of the product related to the patent. There is no great way to do it. It infringes on an inventors rights to sell their creation which i beleive deeply. However, these fucking patent trolls need to be stopped.

eru 12y ago
> Inventors need a way to protect their ideas. Or you could negate that premise?
tolmasky 12y ago
> Companies can only sue for a percentage of the revenue they themselves generated from sale of the product related to the patent. This would nullify one of the original purposes of the patent: to protect "the little guy" who had his idea stolen. If you come up with a great idea, start to market it, then immediately get it ripped off by a huge corporation that then is only ever on the hook for the tiny amount you managed to make before they stole it, then the "protection" evaporates. Of course, I don't believe patents should really exist at all (I think there are much better models of protection that don't involve such a clearly exploitable mechanism), but just want to show any time you talk about "fixing" the patent system while still keeping it, most good intentioned solutions quickly end up being more complex than initially thought.

Apofis 12y ago

The worst part is it somehow started out as a patent PROTECTION organization and then somehow morphed into a patent troll. Absolutely ridiculous.

zachrose 12y ago
I believe it works both ways. If you're a small upstart company with novel tech and BIGCO gets you on the ropes with claims of patent infringement, you can buy protection from IV and in turn they'll provide you with patents from their arsenal so you can countersue BIGCO and settle on better terms. http://www.intellectualventures.com/news/press-releases/dashwire-becomes-intellectual-ventures-customer-and-gains-patents-for-defen/ http://www.intellectualventures.com/news/press-releases/dash... http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110801006668/en/Dashwire-Settles-Patent-Infringement-Lawsuit-Synchronoss-Technologies#.VNl6h7DF9sA http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110801006668/en/Dash...
kragen 12y ago
IIRC, IV was never a patent protection organization. That was just their PR story so they could grow. The idea was always that you would pay them to license their pool of patents.

WildUtah 12y ago

Anyone who invents something and then patents and licenses it without owning the factory is a patent troll the way you're defining it. The problem is that the patents modern trolls abuse are garbage patents that don't promote innovation. Some are overbroad or obvious. Most are directed to math and computer software, a field totally incompatible with the patent system. Over 90% of programmers with an opinion prefer only copyright and trademarks to apply to computer software. The patent lawyers were thirsty to bleed software companies dry and pushed their system where it isn't wanted and now we have to suffer the consequences of having little influence in Washington to defend ourselves.

throwawaykf05 12y ago
>Over 90% of programmers with an opinion prefer only copyright and trademarks to apply to computer software. Actually, no, only 15% of programmers think that way. Source: same as yours, only I look beyond any particular echo chamber :-)