
Ask HN: Do You Worry about Patent Infringement when Deciding on Startup Idea? - pfoo
Given the 'obviousness' (not in the legal sense) of many business process patents relating to the web, it seems that a new web startup would find that it stands a not insignificant chance at infringing on some intellectual property.<p>Has anyone done a patent search prior to developing a web startup?  What did it cost?
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gojomo
IANAL, and this is not legal advice, but I have heard this analysis from
software engineers wiser than me:

Unless you have very specific expertise in the interpretation of patents,
given their specialized lanaguage and all the circumstances of related law and
practice, you are highly likely to misinterpret them in expensive ways.

Further, if there's evidence you've knowingly infringed a patent, damages are
much larger. So in some ways it's better _not_ to seek out information about
related patents, unless it is a part of your professional job description.

When you're applying for your own patents, a certain amount of research about
prior work and patents is necessary. But otherwise, you can wait for those
with patents to inform you of their claims. That call may never come; it will
typically only come if you're successful, and at that time the deep expert
analysis of specific situations becomes cost-effective.

(A different analysis for other engineering domains -- hardware,
chemicals/materials, drugs, etc. -- may apply; this analysis most pertains to
software and business methods.)

Also, you mention business process patents. They might not survive in current
form past the present Supreme Court session. See:

[http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc200...](http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc2009061_905686.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis)

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pfoo
Thanks for the advice, I'll take it!

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pg
You shouldn't bother, except perhaps in a few specialized fields.

