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* Michael Champion <michaelc.champion@gmail.com> [2005-06-07 01:03]:
> On 6/6/05, Alan Gutierrez <alan-xml-dev@engrm.com> wrote:
>
> > This notion of mututually assured distruction is one that
> > interests me. If frivolous patent infringment claims are met
> > with like frivolous patent infringment claims, it makes the
> > pursuit of such litigation unprofitable.
>
> Yes, I was thinking of the nuclear analogy.
> It would probably be inappropriate for me to comment, but that's
> consistent with my point in jumping into this thread: Don't see the
> patent wars in good vs evil terms, but in strategic terms.
Agreed.
The good versus evil rhetoric scares away those people who don't
see that the future of the world hinges on XML. ;^)
> Until there is World Peace (global patent reform and highly
> competent examiners as the norm) it makes little sense for any one
> power to give up their nukes, i.e. by not aggressively filing for
> patents on plausible inventions. Even if a group of major powers
> disarmed, the rogue states and terrorists with missile submarines
> :-) could still raise havoc.
I feel, as an individual, that I'm being lumped together with
Kim Jong-il, simply because I'm not a major power.
This is hardly reassuring for the lone practitioner.
> But remember that there are a lot of forces besides competing
> patents keeping Big Companies from nuking the little guys,
> including corporate image, antitrust law, the ability of
> governments to change all sorts of laws to punish companies that
> afflict their constituents, and so on.
That is not a lot of forces. All I've heard specifically is
corporate image and anti-trust law.
A patent takedown of an individual, open source project, or
small firm will not alert the anti-trust authorities. Anti-trust
doesn't come into play until a firm has marketshare. The threat
of patent litigation is a good way to keep a start up from
gaining market share.
Corporate image? How is patent enforcment going to adversely
effect corporate image? They'll simply say, as you have: We had
to crush Start Up, LLC. They could have become patent terrorists!
Corporate image? Ouch. Wow.
Caveat:
I am all for competition, globalization, and coporations.
I am a free trader.
I see the current patent system as flawed. I see that it
threatens to elevate the risks of doing business with small
firms to the extent that no one will do business with small firms.
--
Alan Gutierrez - alan@engrm.com
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