

CrowdIPR brings IP search services to the masses - tilt
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/01/29/crowdipr-enters-the-2bn-patent-market-and-brings-ip-search-services-to-the-masses/

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icebraining
_We recently did a study with an Estonian university which had an early-stage
IT development idea. Our community was able to find a patent from 2010 that
somebody else had developed, describing exactly the same thing they’d been
planning to develop. As a result, they could avoid wasting resources and
instead build on the existing knowledge that was out there. And avoid a
potential lawsuit.”_

Of course, if the patent holder had been unwilling to license it for a
reasonable price, the university is now guilty of _willful_ infringement if
they try to develop it themselves, even if they don't actually build on the
existing patent.

