Tech Giants Bankrolling IP Hoarding Start-Up

Posted by timothy on Sunday November 14, 2004 @12:47PM from the you-scratcha-my-back dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft alum Nathan Myhrvold so strongly believes intellectual property is the next software that he's studying for the patent bar exam. His company, Intellectual Ventures, doesn't actually make anything - only patent attorneys roam the hallways. Myhrvold isn't the only true believer. Microsoft, Intel, Sony, Nokia, Apple, Google, and eBay have contributed to a $350M bankroll which the firm is using to buy up existing patents that can be rented to companies who want to produce real products."

1 of 528 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Seventeen years is a blink of an eye... by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · 2004-11-14 13:24 · Score: 1, Troll

A patent lasts no more than seventeen years. In any realistic economic sense, that's no time at all. Frankly, it's such a short time that it doesn't affect anyone except taillight followers and copycats. Having somebody floating around whose only real motivation is ferreting out such scum and getting them to pay for the hard work that they're trying to sponge off of is a good thing.