This isn't validation - but it may be corruption.

Posted Mar 21, 2009 16:19 UTC (Sat) by k3ninho (subscriber, #50375)
In reply to: This isn't validation - but it may be corruption. by pboddie
Parent article: FFII: EPO seeks to validate software patents without the European Parliament

> Can you point to any "game-changing developments" employed by start-up companies that were successfully protected by patents? Most of the time, the hard work involved with such a development is in the execution, not thinking up the idea. And ideas shouldn't be patentable, anyway.

You've got confused. The patent allows you to stop a competitor from exploiting your development, and thus provides protection from a bigger competitor muscling you out of the market. Examples of game-changing developments whose patents helped their start-up companies become successes include Akamai's content delivery and Google's PageRank (and extensions to Google searches like the 'define:' search method). I cite these examples well aware that growing a business is far more than having a patent -- but having a patent stops the business you have worked to grow from being undercut by competitors who can afford loss-leaders.

This isn't validation - but it may be corruption.

Posted Mar 22, 2009 1:47 UTC (Sun) by pboddie (guest, #50784) [Link]

You've got confused. The patent allows you to stop a competitor from exploiting your development, and thus provides protection from a bigger competitor muscling you out of the market.

I'm aware of the theory, but what's to stop the bigger competitor from threatening you with their patent portfolio, anyway? And PageRank looks like a prime example of something which shouldn't be patentable, although it's interesting to note the patent's origins, suggesting some reasons as to why the subject matter isn't a trade secret, like a lot of other Google technology.