The reality is that it's just a way to protect market dominance
Yes, but it is a temporary way to protect market dominance. And giving someone a temporary and limited monopoly encourages people to invent (so they can get that limited monopoly for their inventions) and it encourages people to innovate around the patented invention.
Fabulous display of ignorance Ping. The sole inventors and the small businesses are the groups that stand to lose the most by a weakened patent system If patents are weakened, the biggest bullies... i.e. those with the most money... always win. Patents give the little guys a boost.
And who do you think all the "patent trolls" are? Right, they're little companies who have nothing but patents and sue big companies for royalties or injunctions. Remember the "Blackberry Scare" last year. Who owned the patent that almost brought down everyone's Crackberries? Why it was a tiny little company.
You do realize it isn't up to the lawyers to file the lawsuit... it's up to the patent holders (who generally hate to pay lawyers as much as anybody). The patent system is not about "keeping the lawyers employed," it's about encouraging technological progress (which it definitely does, despite what slashdot nerds say). And patents definitely are not about keeping judges employed... they have plenty to do with all the criminal cases and insurance companies screwing people over.
Slashdot Mirror
The reality is that it's just a way to protect market dominance
Yes, but it is a temporary way to protect market dominance. And giving someone a temporary and limited monopoly encourages people to invent (so they can get that limited monopoly for their inventions) and it encourages people to innovate around the patented invention.
Fabulous display of ignorance Ping. The sole inventors and the small businesses are the groups that stand to lose the most by a weakened patent system If patents are weakened, the biggest bullies... i.e. those with the most money... always win. Patents give the little guys a boost. And who do you think all the "patent trolls" are? Right, they're little companies who have nothing but patents and sue big companies for royalties or injunctions. Remember the "Blackberry Scare" last year. Who owned the patent that almost brought down everyone's Crackberries? Why it was a tiny little company.
You do realize it isn't up to the lawyers to file the lawsuit... it's up to the patent holders (who generally hate to pay lawyers as much as anybody). The patent system is not about "keeping the lawyers employed," it's about encouraging technological progress (which it definitely does, despite what slashdot nerds say). And patents definitely are not about keeping judges employed... they have plenty to do with all the criminal cases and insurance companies screwing people over.