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US Patent Regime Is Absurd
An anonymous reader writes in with an opinion piece in the Economist
about the the effects
of patent trolling on the US economy. The author argues that the
U.S. patent regime is causing the U.S. essentially to harm itself. Things
have gotten so bad that paying for
protection is par for the course.
The often-wonderful This American Life show covered this topic quite recently. They tried to find out what the deal was with Intellectual Ventures and their ilk, and made some surprising discoveries. (I don't want to give away any spoilers.)
You can listen to a podcast of the show here:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Copyright isn't absurd the way software patents are.
Pretty much everyone, including OSS software developers, desire the benefits of copyright. The way that the MPAA/RIAA goes about enforcement is definitely out of control, but the fundamental issue is okay.
Software patents, on the other hand, are (at least) well in the the grey area surrounding "what should be patentable". A business process, a mathematical formula, a procedure, an idea? How ethereal can something be and still be someone's property?
The MAFIAA are trying to change the rules to suit their own interests. Patent trolls, on the other hand, are functioning just fine with the rules the way they are.
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"