A Good Day

JamesM · Post by **JamesM** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:33 pm

2) So, if I had an idea how to do something, it becomes mine? Thats stupid.

In that case, where is the incentive to innovate? I would gain much more money by hiring a truckful of lawyers and salespeople to take whatever technology your company developed and sell it better.

piranha · Post by **piranha** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:52 pm

You should be able to come up with something new without the need to patent it or say that no one else can use it. You don't have to share it, and if someone else comes up with the same idea independent of you, then then they should be allowed to use said idea.

-JL

JackScott · Post by **JackScott** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:50 pm

Alright. Let's say you actually invent a working LightSabre, but you decide that only Jedi Knights can buy them. But then one of the Jedi Knights you sell to turns out to be a major corporation, and pulls it apart and finds out how it works. And then they sell it on. You would be pissed off, because now the dark side has them.

With patents: No dark side.
Without patents: Darth Vader returns to kill all your puppies.

Brynet-Inc · Post by **Brynet-Inc** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:10 pm

Minion: We've obtained one of their light sabres sire, shall we reverse engineer them?
Vader: No you fool, how would we ever defeat... lawyers~!!

Yeah, right..

No one person should control the fate of an invention, that ruins creativity... reverse engineering a product can serve to improve it, or, as a side effect, help create something even better.

JackScott · Post by **JackScott** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:12 pm

Excuse me, everybody knows the only people Darth Vader is scared of are lawyers with patent notices.

piranha · Post by **piranha** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:37 pm

Brynet-Inc wrote:Minion: We've obtained one of their light sabres sire, shall we reverse engineer them?
Vader: No you fool, how would we ever defeat... lawyers~!!

Yeah, right..

No one person should control the fate of an invention, that ruins creativity... reverse engineering a product can serve to improve it, or, as a side effect, help create something even better.

Exactly what I mean.

-JL

JamesM · Post by **JamesM** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:18 am

No one person should control the fate of an invention, that ruins creativity

No, what ruins creativity is not being able to profit from an invention that you've invested millions in R&D on.

However in one respect you are correct, and that's why patents have a shelf life (5 years, iirc).