

Ask HN:  Are patents worthwhile? - sam_in_nyc

I'm nearing a release of something big.  It's not what's in my profile, actually something a lot simpler than that, but with very large implications.  Think "Quicksilver for the internet."  You probably think I'm full of shit, but that's OK.<p>What are your thoughts on patenting web applications?  What I'm working on could pretty easily be copied, which would really break my heart, but hasn't been done yet.  It would be along the lines of patenting the "Quicksilver" application for Mac.  If you don't know what this is, you hit Ctrl+space, start typing an Application name, and it fills it in for you and executes it for you, giving you ultra-quick access to most used apps.  Ctrl+space, then "fi" then Enter would open up Firefox, for example.<p>Is Quicksilver patentable?  Is it worthwhile to patent and idea like this?
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karim
I think that something like this already exists for firefox :
<http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/>

Patenting, is, imo, not a good idea. First, suppose that someone breaks your
patent ? Are you going to engage a tedious lawsuit. Second, you should always
be ahead of your concurrence. Third, you're already copying someone else's
idea.

~~~
timf
And before joining Mozilla, the same guys who work on ubiquity worked on the
similar product "enso launcher" for desktops which you should also
investigate:

<http://humanized.com/enso/launcher/>

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rms
It's not particularly useful once your company is going, but investors like to
see that your IP is exclusive and protected. It's still probably not worth the
money to pay a lawyer to write it, but you can file a patent or provisional
patent yourself for next to nothing. Check out the Nolo Press books on the
topic.

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jacquesm
The sooner patents are abolished the better.

That said, as long as they exist there are situations where patents make
sense. If developing your product takes a couple of millions of dollars and it
is truly innovative then it makes sense to take out a patent because the
overhead is relatively low compared to the potential benefits.

For instance, the Dyson vacuum cleaner was protected by a patent and it helped
them in going after Philips who shamelessly cloned it.

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noonespecial
Unless you happen to have a couple hundred thousand laying around to actually
prosecute an offender, a patent will do you little good.

You should spend your energy doing your thing. Simply having a good idea _and
doing it well_ is probably the best defense against those who would copy it.
People who rip off ideas in the way that you are worried about usually do it
so poorly that it doesn't matter.

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pclark
you can't patent ideas. Even if you could, _you_ couldn't afford to actually
prosecute an offender.

