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Patents The Almighty Buck The Courts Apple

Are Patent Wars Worth the Price Tag? 128

ericjones12398 writes "It's beginning to feel like a TV series, a weekly patent war drama. Apple and Samsung have consistently been going back and forth with claims of IP infringement, to the point where who is accusing who of what is exhausting to follow. The question I would like to ask and try to answer is what the opportunity costs are of pursuing litigation versus just toughing it out? Would it be more economic for both companies to live and let live, or is there value to be captured in legal finger pointing? My best guess would be that this isn't about stopping sales this quarter or next, nor is it about defending the small-scale tech features that merely mildly differentiate. It's instead about momentum and branding. Winning these cases is PR that says, we are the leaders in smartphone technology, we are the innovators."

Are Patent Wars Worth the Price Tag?

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  • Are they worth it? (Score:5, Informative)

    by the eric conspiracy (20178) on Monday June 25, 2012 @04:29PM (#40443831)

    A patent is a contract between the inventor and the government. The exchange is:

    1. The government grants an right to the inventor to prevent others from practicing the invention for some period of time, currently 20 years.

    2. The inventor publishes in the patent the details of the invention which would give others the ability to practice the invention.

    So it's worth it if having the details of the invention published outweighs the costs associated with the restriction on practicing the invention.

    Your mileage will vary depending on the nature of the invention. The less obvious it is the more likely you will come out ahead.

    For the vast majority of the inventions that Samsung and Apple are quibbling about the answer is pretty simple to see. It's not worth it.

    These patents should have never issued.

  • Re:I despise patents (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dunbal (464142) * on Monday June 25, 2012 @04:54PM (#40444209)

    he idea that someone can write a song and retire and the grandkids can probably retire at birth too is disgusting. Whereas I write a program and have a job. Did K&R retire from writing C? No, it just gave them the reputation to get further work. That's all anyone should get.

    I agree. For example, I recently went to an Elton John concert here in Costa Rica. Sir Elton is what, 60-odd now? We had a great time and he played his all time hits. I went home and looked at his concert schedule. The man is working in Vegas every weeknight, and flies internationally on his private jet on the weekends. What this means is he is working his ASS off. Therefore he well deserves all the fabulous riches that he has.

    Now look at some of those "one hit wonders" from the same time period that go around complaining and suing people at the drop of a hat. Yeah, fuck em. They don't deserve any more than they got. If they didn't manage their money and decided they could retire at 20, well, they are reaping the rewards life gives such people.
