

Why is selling a patent legal in the first place? - wesleyoldaker
http://wrttn.in/af611c

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polemic
The desire to pull down the entire patent system because of failures in the
software industry is understandable, but misguided, and the proposed solution
is completely unworkable.

Patents [should] exist to recognize and reward real and substantial effort to
create new technology from research. There is real value in fostering a
research community _as a separate discipline_ to pushing it to market.

OP talks about 'insufficient capital' \- but that's looking at it the wrong
way around. An "inventor" shouldn't be defined by capital they're able to
bring to bear. The cost and skillset required to invent vs commercialise a
technology are vastly different, and punishing capital-poor inventors serves
to suppress innovation.

"Patents" are not the problem. Inappropriately awarded patents, impossible-to-
contest patents, and an outlandishly complex and expensive legal system are
the problem.

~~~
wesleyoldaker
I either didn't explain myself well enough or you're misunderstanding my
argument. I'm not proposing abolishing the patent system. I'm proposing
abolishing the market for their resale.

------
ozten
I read this as _why, which made for a very interesting title.

