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RE: This is just stupid...
by nicholasj on Thu 4th Aug 2011 15:15 UTC in reply to "This is just stupid..."
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"Android grew as quickly as it did precisely because it leveraged innovations that were patented by other companies."

And BANG! we're right back to that old 'definition of innovation' problem. So many of those user interface patents are complete bollocks - completely "obvious to persons of ordinary skill in the art". And I appreciate in the fullness of time many of them will likely (hopefully) be invalidated on review, but in the meantime obscene amounts of time and money will be spent on patent attorneys, court wrangling and wasted human capital. It's all so nauseatingly inefficient.

What non-software types don't always seem to appreciate is that by enforcing these ludicrous software patents, you devalue the patent system generally - you risk justifying the behaviour of manufacturers in (euphemistically) 'non-patent-enforcing' countries ripping off genuine design and innovation without license.

As the micro-fab boom builds steam and industrial design becomes just another form of digital art, I fear it's already inevitable that we'll see similar levels of piracy to those in the music, film and now ebook industries. Why buy an iPhone 13, when you can torrent the design and print it off at your local fab?

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