Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Companies Asked to Donate Unused Patents

Posted by Hemos on from the bring-out-yer-dead dept.

Radon360 writes "There are countless patents that are promising but sitting idle, stowed in the corporate file room. In fact, about 90 percent to 95 percent of all patents are idle. Countless patents sit unused when companies decide not to develop them into products. Now, not-for-profit groups and state governments are asking companies to donate dormant patents so they can be passed to local entrepreneurs who try to build businesses out of them. "

6 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Why donate? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The whole goal of filing tons of patents you won't develop is to wait for someone else to do the work for you. If you donate the patent someone else will complete the work but you won't get to capitalize on their success. (as was I'm sure the original goal)

  2. Hmmm by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is good. I was wondering what I was gonna do with my peanut-butter-powered horse launcher.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  3. Is this really a good idea? by J.R.+Random · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Take an old, dusty patent that isn't doing anyone any harm, and then give it to an entrepreneur who now has an incentive to sue anyone else whose product violates the patent.

    The only reason it's possible to do business in the United States at all is because 90% of patents are left lying in a drawer rather than being rigorously enforced.

  4. Invalidate them by simm1701 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to make patents only valid while the holder is actively exploiting them (ie using them to build the device in question - filing suits against anyone that looks like they might be using it shouldn't count) - allow a 3 year grace period between filing the patent and when they first start using it to cover developement to market window

    --
    $_="Slashdotter";$syn="OTT";s;..;;;sub _{print shift||$_};s!ash!Perl !;s=$syn=ack=i;tr+LLEd+BLAH+;_"Just Another ";_
    1. Re:Invalidate them by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to make patents only valid while the holder is actively exploiting them

      Bingo!

      Let's be clear about this, for the benefit of the libertarians: patents (and other forms of protected IP, i.e. trademarks and copyrights) are government interference in the market. They are a form of government-granted monopoly which interfere with the normal operations of a free-market economy. As a matter of principle as well as practicality, this should only happen when the benefits clearly and greatly outweigh the costs -- "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts," as the Constitution defines the purpose of IP law. Granting government protection to unused patents clearly does nothing toward this end.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    2. Re:Invalidate them by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Doh! The USPTO already has a mechanism for this - maintainence fees. If you don't pony up $$$$$$ every few years the patent automatically expires. Companies, being greedy bastards don't maintain patents that they have no interest in. Which is probnably why this entire article and discussion thereof is stupid.