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Patently stupidPatently stupidPosted Oct 10, 2012 7:12 UTC (Wed) by khim (subscriber, #9252)In reply to: Patently stupid by bronson Parent article: The Patent, Used as a Sword (New York Times) Sorry, but no. As someone who've seen the process from the inside (I never sold a startup but I participated as an expert in talks) I can attest that investors rarely conduct a patent search. It's just way, way, WAY too expensive. They know there are lots of patents out there and they consider the hypothetical possibility of these landmines, but they have no way to get an accurate measures. And if you have patents of your own for the technology you've developed then the risk is largely mitigated: if your technology is covered by both your patent and someone's else patent then it's very hard to prove that you have no right to use this technology even if that other patent was granted earlier. Patents may be a drag for the economy as whole but they sure are a win for each particular participant. Tragedy of commons and all that. And startups who are trying to do things for the common good first and for their own good second don't usually reach the sale stage at all.
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Patently stupid Posted Oct 10, 2012 14:13 UTC (Wed) by price (subscriber, #59790) [Link]
It sounds like you, or anyway the startup(s) you've known, have been fortunate. All I can say is: it doesn't always work out that way. NB that the scrutiny of the large player or the large player being at all involved isn't required -- only the potential acquirers need to know about the patent.
I believe that *some* small-company shareholders come out modestly pleased with what the patent system did for their pocketbooks, but there are others who come out quite displeased. And I suspect that in net, if you're involved in an early-stage startup and don't yet know how those dice will fall, your expected value from the patent system is negative.
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