The practical problem with software patents
by Colin Dodd
Open Source India: The practical problem with software patents
The lack of clear boundaries in software means that even law-abiding software developers who intend not to violate another’s patent have no clear means of avoiding it. The authors point out that there are around 4000 patents on e-commerce and around 11,000 patents on online shopping. Add to this the fact that getting legal opinion on each software patent can cost around USD 5,000 and we have a vexatious, if not impossible, task at hand. For most software developers, doing a patent search in connection with their work is simply not economically feasible. Even leaving aside the cost of a search, the results are seldom conclusive. Thus it really is not possible to eliminate the risk of a patent infringement lawsuit.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I totally agree with you. Even working outside U.S. there is a phantom about develop a successful product that in future could reach international sales. There is when the Patents Protection Mechanism is activated, and all the wolves came to you to ask for their part in your sales.
This is where I start to think if this is why the software patents where made for? At the end, instead of bring benefit and stimulate the software market with more products, it is making hard to develop, cause you never know where the rabbit will come out neither where.
I think in software matter, the laws may have to be more flexible and provide at no cost (or low cost), ways to find out when you are committing a patent infringement (even without previous knowledge).
January 13th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
This entry was posted by Colin Dodd on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am and is filed under Truth.
January 16th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
This is a good article on software patent issues. I’m convinced that it’s time to eliminate the software patent process, and simply use the existing copyright and trademark protection for software. See my article on blog.startupprofessionals.com titled “Software Patents: Time for a Change” for specifics.
Marty Zwilling, Founder & CEO, Startup Professionals, Inc.