The VP8 wars heat up ... again

The VP8 wars heat up ... again

While that author may have meant, "... enough innovation to be a net benefit," it's easy for someone to assume the author wrote what he meant, and I wanted to make sure readers don't think that it is generally agreed that patents have no up side, or that LWN readers are so simple that they can't see two sides to an issue.

It is actually possible to refute that "IP law stimulates innovation" by comparing the normal level of innovation with that under the observed legal regime. Even if individuals or organisations are encouraged to innovate by the availability of monopoly grants, if the general level of innovation decreases, any claim of the benefits of the "IP law" in question can be refuted at the most pertinent level of discussion.